Maelstrom
by 4waterdragon27
Summary: Words are powerful, piercing; capable of causing change throughout the entirety of the world. A simple sentence. A single mistake. That was all it took to warp Naruto's destiny. It was a poison. Slow. Deadly. Injected by a snake that wrapped around his body and sunk it's teeth into his neck. A poison that was slowly spreading through his body, contaminating his body and soul.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

**Maelstrom**

 _ **Chapter One**_

 _Prologue_

 _"You're the Kyuubi!"  
_  
Twitch.

 _"A monster!"_

Twitch.

 _"Haven't you ever wondered why the village looked at you like dir-"  
_  
"Shut the fuck up!" Naruto snapped, annoyance dripping from his words...Only to find he wasn't facing Mizuki anymore.

He wasn't even in the forest anymore.

No; in fact, it was the very next day since the scroll incident - which the Hokage seemed to fondly address it as - and the day after he received his headband from Iruka-sensei. With those thoughts in mind, it was easy to say he wasn't out in the forest fighting for his life under the light of the stars; rather, it was day time and he was taking a casual stroll around the village.

Hands behind his head, his scowling visage caused by the previous day's memories was vanquished, replaced with a rather nervous smile after his...Vulgar outburst.

Needless to say, the people on the street were looking rather displeased - and that was putting it mildly. Scratching his cheek, Naruto hummed to himself in thought - an action his classmates and anyone who knew him didn't know he was capable of doing - as he looked at the civilian's gazes; not that it was any different from how they usually looked at him.

Shrugging his shoulders and glaring at anyone who looked at him, he continued his stroll through the village. Now that he was actually told the reason as to his treatment received from the villagers, well; putting it bluntly, he was _pissed_.

Bringing his hands down from his head, he rested a single appendage upon his stomach - the resting place of his prisoner, the _Kyuubi no Yoko._ The textbooks stated he was vanquished by the Yondaime Hokage, but that wasn't the truth in any way. Instead, the Yondaime decided to create a weapon; namely, a _Jinchuuriki._

Looking at the situation from a Shinobi viewpoint, Naruto could see the logic in the Yondaime's decision. Shinobi in the first place are meant to be tools and the Yondaime was the strongest tool at Konohagakure's disposal. It only made sense to replace that blade with another equally sharp blade.

Putting it simply, the Yondaime sacrificed his life to create a stronger weapon knowing that he wouldn't be able to survive the battle.

A smart move from a Shinobi's standard.

Unfortunately, Naruto wasn't exactly _happy_ with those thoughts. While he did look at it from a Shinobi's view point, he was still a living, breathing human being with feelings.

He couldn't just shrug off and smile at the thoughts of being made a weapon that was disrespected and hated by the very population he was protecting.

Like what the actual fuck?

You hate the person that is protecting you from a monster of DOOM? Makes sense. Naruto shook his head in displeasure; don't even get him started on all the other fucking things that the civilians - even Shinobi - thought about the blonde Jinchuuriki.

Unfortunately, Naruto was already on a roll and had no plans on stopping.

Get a load of this _shit._ The civilians and ninja - you can't forget the idiocy of the ninjas - thought that he, Naruto, was the Kyuubi.

Naruto couldn't stop himself from raising an eyebrow at that; seriously, what the actual fuck? Perhaps, he could possibly forgive the civilians for their cluelessness - even if they _were_ told this repeatedly by the Sandaime Hokage _over and over_ again - he couldn't forgive the Shinobi of Konohagakure…Not that he planned on forgiving either anytime soon.

But, seriously, Konohagakure is a _ninja_ village, yet they were still swayed by the thoughts of the villagers? Seriously? Shinobi use storage scrolls _all the time!_ Do the scrolls they seal kunai in somehow become kunai?

No, damn it.

Naruto knew absolutely nothing about Fuinjutsu, but even _he_ knew this; not to mention the Yondaime, himself, a master of Fuinjutsu, sealed the beast within him with the intent of creating a Jinchuuriki who was in control of his own actions. By having thoughts that Naruto was the Kyuubi, they doubted their own _precious_ Yondaime Hokage - a man who was heralded as the strongest of his time, capable of being in the same tier as the legends of the past like Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.

And they doubted him.

Naruto sighed; an academy student can tell the difference between a scroll and a kunai, but full grown men and women can't? Pretty pathetic...Not that their children were any different. Poisoned by the thoughts of their parents, children of all ages thought terribly of Uzumaki Naruto - Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Yoko.

It was a rather cruel cycle: first, they ignored his existence - copying their parent's actions - then they began to make fun of him, and, finally, the braver of the children _attacked_ him.

Not that they got very far. He made sure to give them a good beating. A naughty smile took place on his face; now _those_ were some good memories.

His dark chuckle was interrupted by a sweat drop as he thought awkwardly, " _Okay...I'll admit, that was kind of evilish...The bastards still deserved it though."_

Shaking his head from his thoughts, he went back to where he was. Where was he again? Oh, right! The scroll and the kunai! Yes, so academy children could see the difference, but it didn't matter and the cycle went on and on.

Blowing out of his lips, he glanced at the civilians from the corner of his eyes - some were blatantly glaring at him while others simply ignored his existence. Either way, they didn't bother blocking his path - a clear path was made for him as he walked along.

He wasn't going to lie; it was kind of badass walking through a path made of people.

Throwing those thoughts away as an easy-going grin made its way on his face, he glared ahead; he was supposed to be _pissed,_ damn it! Quickening his pace slightly, he started moving down the road as his thoughts raced by.

Naruto could kind of understand why everyone hated him; it's kind of hard to talk to someone when they knew a giant creature of DOOM resided in their stomach...He guessed anyways.

Naruto, actually, would think it's kind of badass, but that was neither here nor there. The point is everybody hated the nearing thirteen year old boy - something he learned when he was just a mere child, but now it was different. He _knew_ the reason why he was hated.

The Kyuubi. Everybody hated him because of the Kyuubi.

Well...Not everyone.

A gentle smile appeared on his face; it made him look actually rather dashing, something a few girls noted as they passed by him, small blushes on their face.

Hey, some people like the _bad_ boiz. (Cringe).

Yesterday was filled with a lot of grief, yes; But it also held some unforgettable memories that were _burned_ into his soul. He raised his hand, touching the iron plate of _his_ headband that rested on his forehead. Naruto traced the symbol of the leaf on his forehead, relishing in every curve and searing the touch into his mind.

Iruka Umino.

Naruto grinned; yes, it was wrong to say that _everybody_ hated him. He had Iruka-sensei, the first one to acknowledge him and his dream.

Iruka _believed_ in him.

Naruto's grin was blinding as his slow steps quickened before he jumped into the air, graceful flips following him as he made his way towards the rooftops so he could use a ninja's favorite way of transportation.

Graceful wasn't a word that his classmates - hell, anyone in Konoha - would use to describe the pranking blonde Jinchuuriki, but that was the only way to describe his motion as he leaped from roof to roof. Perhaps, it was the beauty that resided in his meaningful movements, never wasting a single motion.

No one knew how to explain it, but Naruto was _graceful_ when he moved through the air like a swallow.

The blonde haired boy pushed down all his dark thoughts, refusing to let them get to him anymore. Sure, the villagers hated him.

That was nothing new.

And _sure_ he knew the reason _why_ he was hated - namely, the big furball that resided in his stomach - but it didn't really make a difference.

He would still make them all acknowledge him or he wouldn't be Uzumaki Naruto!

" _I'll become the strongest Ninja of all - the Hokage! I'll beat up everyone and anyone; becoming a hero like no other!"_

But those thoughts had him stop in his tracks. Narrowing his eyes, Naruto dashed towards the forest that held all the training areas that Konohagakure had for their Shinobi.

He silenced his thoughts and focused on moving, becoming a blur through the sky that the civilians couldn't even see and other Ninja - Academy Students and Genins - could barely follow.

Quickly enough, he arrived in a clearing surrounded by trees, a river resting by his right and tall wooden posts alongside the shore.

This was Naruto's training ground. It wasn't anything special, but it was enough for him. It was private and away from the village; here, he could do whatever he wished without any prying eyes.

Naruto sat down on his butt, resting a single hand on his lap, he placed his other hand on his cheek, appearing almost like a orange wearing king.

Don't bash the orange or he'd bash you.

Naruto let out a long sigh before his eyes glinted seriously, it was time to think. An activity he didn't enjoy, but could do whenever he wished, and this was an activity he needed to do... _Now._

His thoughts returned to a conversation he had late last night…

 **XxMaelstormxX**

 **Konohagakure: Hokage's Tower**

 **Last Night**

" _You are_ not _the Kyuubi, Naruto-kun. Do you understand?" The Sandaime Hokage said for the hundredth time that night, "You know about Fuinjutsu, don't you? You know that the s-"_

" _That the scroll isn't a kunai even if you seal hundreds or thousands inside of them." Naruto interrupted dully, annoyance flickering within his eyes as he snapped, "I get it! I get it! We've only been over it like a hundred thousand times, Old Man! It's one A.M. in the morning!"_

 _Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled fondly at the blonde haired boy sitting in front of his desk. It was only a few hours after the scroll incident and Mizuki was in the eager hands of the T.I. (Torture and Interrogation) department._

 _Sarutobi felt no pity for the Chunin as Naruto handed him to the grinning Anko Mitarashi even as he knew of Anko's…Peculiar fetishes._

 _Hiruzen didn't shudder. Hokages don't shudder. He would swear this until the day he died._

 _Shaking his head from those thoughts, he looked at Naruto, "I can see this now. Forgive an old man's rambling."_

 _Naruto rolled his eyes at the Hokage, "You're not that old yet, Jiji. You still have to hand that hat to me afterall."_

 _Hiruzen looked at him in momentary shock for a few moments before erupting in merry laughter, "That's right, my boy!" The Hokage looked at Naruto carefully, exhaling a plume of smoke out of his mouth before speaking, "So...You still want to become the Hokage. Even after going through what the village did to you and knowing what the Yondaime sealed inside of you."_

 _Naruto's response was immediate and attached with a foxy grin, "Of course! I don't scare easy, old man! That position is mine! I'll make this whole village - no, this whole world acknowledge me! I'll become the strongest Shinobi ever!"_

 _Hiruzen smiled softly at the boy's declaration; he certainty had the spirit to make it happen. Unfortunately, the Hokage wasn't foolish and his mind was racing with thoughts. Naruto...Wasn't exactly the strongest of his class, he had to become a lot stronger to even hope of becoming a Kage._

 _But this was Minato's and Kushina's boy! Hiruzen's eyes narrowed; Naruto never received the correct education from his teachers and when he finally received a teacher who was willing to teach him - Iruka - it was already too late._

 _Naruto was fed up with the discrimination against him given to him by his teachers and skipped classes; therefore, stunting his growth._

 _Hiruzen released a heavy sigh, accompanied by a cloud of smoke released from his lungs; it was time for some tough love on his favorite Genin._

 _Eyes sharpening, he looked down at Naruto - who stiffened at seeing those eyes landing on him, the eyes of the_ _ **Shinobi no Kami**_ _\- and spoke, "Tell me, Naruto. Do you really think you can become Hokage at your current level."_

 _Naruto winced; appearing as if he was physically struck, but that disappeared within the second as he glared up at the Hokage. Hiruzen never overestimated Naruto, this blonde haired boy had the strongest will he's ever seen, "You've skipped so many classes at the academy and while I acknowledge that you probably weren't treated right by your teachers, you didn't bother showing up to classes when a teacher who wanted to help you showed up."_

 _Hiruzen didn't need to see Naruto wince to know who he was walking about._

" _Your growth was stunted over the past few years - deliberately. While your body and chakra is strong - befitting your Uzumaki genetics - your control is terribly weak. Your Taijutsu is deplorable - the only reason you win a lot of your class spars is due to your extremely high speed level and your impossibly high endurance and resilience. Unfortunately, that means nothing to a skilled fighter. I'm sure you know this from fighting Sasuke Uchiha." Wince; that was a low blow, "Genjutsu is inexistent." Naruto felt like he was being stabbed with every word Hiruzen spoke, but it hurt all the more to know it was true and one of your only two precious persons were telling you that. "Your Ninjutsu is fine - above average actually - with the addition of the Kage Bunshin and the other academy two. I'd say your well above an academy student level Ninjutsu-wise," Naruto felt his hopes rise with those words, only to fall again as Hiruzen continued, "Unfortunately, you're lacking everywhere else."_

" _Why don't you just push me off a cliff." Naruto muttered, looking to the side in annoyance as he bit his lip childishly._

 _Hiruzen stared at him, bringing down his powerful presence on the blonde boy, making Naruto look at him - not in fear, but in awe._

" _Such a strange boy." Hiruzen thought, smiling mentally, "Anyone else would be fearing for their lives, but here he is. Smiling with glee."_

 _Hiruzen spoke, warmth filling his voice, "I tell you this because I care and because I believe you can become the Hokage." Naruto looked at him, astonished beyond belief at the old man's words. He's always been told by the Hokage that training and hard work is the way to become the Hokage. He was_ _ **never**_ _told that the old man believed he could become Hokage, "I'm telling you this now because I believe you_ can _improve. Right now you rank at the middle - possibly, lower-middle within your class in overall ability. That's not awful for someone who has been slacking off for many years."_

 _Naruto rubbed the back of his head nervously, chuckling awkwardly._

" _You can easily catch up." Hiruzen dangled bait before the blonde, "I'm sure you'll become strong enough to match Sasuke if you can train hard enough!"_

 _And the blonde boy jumped on the hook._

 _Naruto jumped up immediately, determination burning in his eyes, "Of course, I'll be stronger than that teme! I'm Uzumaki Naruto! Future Hokage of Konohagakure!"_

 _Hiruzen smiled before speaking, "Fortunately for you, you have almost a month before the teams are given out. That'll give you some time to train."_

 _Naruto nodded and hopped to his feet excitedly, "Yup! I'm going to get some sleep since I'll be training early tomorrow!" The blonde haired boy spun around and dashed towards the door before suddenly stopping._

 _Hiruzen stared at the boy in confusion; he was pretty sure they already covered everything. What was he going to say?_

" _Old man." Naruto started, "You said something interesting before - Uzumaki genetics." Glowing eyes stared at him as Naruto tilted his head slightly, strangely serious, "What exactly did you mean by that."_

" _Oh fuck." Hiruzen, thankfully, thought instead of speaking out loud. That would seem awfully suspicious if he suddenly swore in front of the blonde as if he's given away some huge secret._

 _Hiruzen has done a great job at keeping Naruto's heritage a secret - something that was only known to a select few. Unfortunately, Hiruzen messed up._

 _Albeit, slightly. He always said to Naruto that he didn't know anything about his parents - only that they died protecting the village from the Kyuubi no Yoko._

 _Nothing more, nothing less._

 _Unfortunately, he just stated something curious. Something that Naruto's sharp ears and mind - yes, Hiruzen knew that Naruto wasn't an idiot all the time - caught on to and pounced on it immediately._

 _Like a fox._

 _Fortunately, Hiruzen could still salvage the situation without revealing his heritage. He wasn't old enough to deal with all the problems left behind by Minato and Kushina; especially, with all the hatred that the Yondaime gained when he was alive._

 _Iwagakure and Kumogakure would surely do anything to get their hands on the brat...Or, at the very least, a kunai in his throat._

 _Especially when the Yondaime's son also happened to be the Jinchuuriki of the strongest Tailed Beast - Kyuubi no Yoko._

 _Hiruzen sighed mentally; yes, that wouldn't do at all._

 _A second passed by and Hiruzen responded, hoping he can distract Naruto with different information rather than about his parents, "There used to be a Uzumaki Clan back when I was young. Unfortunately, they were wiped out during the First Shinobi War - I'm sure you can read more about it in the Library if you wish to learn more. Nonetheless, the Uzumaki Clan was powerful - rivaling the Uchiha and Senju clans even if your clan was a peaceful one. They really knew how to fight."_

 _A melancholic smile appeared on his face as he relived a few memories of his meetings with the Uzumaki before shaking his head and continuing to please Naruto's curiosity, "They were known for their powerful life forces allowing them to live way beyond the years of a normal person. This had a few effects on their healing rates and endurance. They were naturally stronger than normal people with their powerful life force and were able to heal faster than normal people. Their skills with Fuinjutsu were particularly dangerous; they were easily the best in the world - better than even our Yondaime."_

 _Hiruzen smiled at the shock that appeared on Naruto's face and whisper that the Old Man easily heard, "The Uzumaki Clan...Were so badass."_

" _Of course - that's not all they had." This immediately caught Naruto's attention and Hiruzen had to stifle his chuckle at the squirrel like reaction, "Alongside of being natural-born chakra sensors to the highest degree, their chakra was special. Unique. They were extremely dense - allowing for much more powerful Ninjutsu. There were a special few though...Some that were capable of creating objects with their chakra." Hiruzen looked at the boy in confusion as he twitched slightly before ignoring it, "They were capable of forming constructs with their chakra...More specifically, they were capable of creating chains."_

 _Yes. That was most definitely a twitch, but once again Hiruzen ignored it; writing it off as excitement. He could never imagine Naruto's racing thoughts at the words Hiruzen directed at him._

" _Those chains were usually equipped with a special ability. For example: I knew of one Uzumaki who was capable of creating barriers that nothing - no matter the attack size or power, even if it could destroy a mountain - could break through." Hiruzen stated; chuckling at the memory of Kushina and her wild purple chains._

 _She restrained the fucking Kyuubi._

 _Hiruzen sweat dropped; he knew who was wearing the pants in that relationship._

 _Shaking off those thoughts, Hiruzen glanced at Naruto before speaking, "Those chains were ridiculously powerful - actually, I'd probably call them a Kekkei Genkai since no one could copy the abilities produced by them…"_

 **XxMaelstormxX**

Naruto looked up at the darkening sky as the blue slowly faded to black, a wry smile on his face. The old man wasn't wrong...Those chakra chains _were_ fearsome.

Extremely so.

Of course, Hokage-Jiji wasn't _completely_ right either; it wasn't _just_ chains that the Uzumaki Clan could create. Humming to himself, Naruto watched the vanishing sun; or, perhaps, Naruto was just a unique case?

Releasing a sigh, Naruto looked down at his hands, excitement glowing on his face. He hadn't done _this_ in a while, mostly due to the fact that he didn't realize until now that his _dense_ chakra could be used in such a way. He always thought of this type of chakra as something to use in a supplementary fashion. It was only recently that he realized that there was so much more to it, something that was slapped into him yesterday.

Of course, he didn't learn about the chakra chains until last night, but more on that later.

When Naruto was a kid, he always had his chakra with him. It wasn't a matter of awakening it or anything like that, his chakra was _always_ there. Unlike others who had to search for their chakra to _feel_ it and utilize it, Naruto was always capable of using it.

Make no mistake though, just because he had it didn't mean he was any good at controlling it. Holding out his hand, Naruto willed his chakra forward and he felt it respond to his wishes.

The first time he used his chakra, he never knew he was different from how others used it. Naruto thought _everyone_ used it the same way he did, but that wasn't the truth; his ability to use chakra was different.

Naruto _could_ say he found that out during the academy, but he only fully realized the extent of the differences from last night's talk with the old man.

When he was a child, he used to roam the streets all the time. Never wanting to go home to see that there was no one waiting for him like normal children.

That he was all alone.

Unfortunately, he stayed out a little too late once and, before he knew it, he was covered by the depths of darkness. Coincidentally, there was no moon that night and the clouds covered the stars that laid across the sky.

It was completely dark.

Perhaps that's why his chakra reacted the way it did?

He didn't know where he was or what was what, the lights in the houses were all off so Naruto could only watch as the darkness consumed him and all of his surroundings.

He quickly found an alleyway, resting his tired six year old body against the wall so he didn't wander into any trouble. Naruto especially didn't want to be found by the particularly nasty civilians, the ones that wouldn't hesitate to chase him under the safety of the night.

Naruto remembered resting his back against the wall while he held out his hands before him, barely able to see his pale, small, hands under the blanket of the night.

Similar to the present.

Darkness was slowly making itself known, crawling towards his and consuming the light as it made its way forth.

Naruto smiled as his hand burned with warmth, the same feeling he had when he was a child, when he was shivering from the cold and trembling from his fear.

But then he held his hand out.

"... _And wished for there to be warmth."_

Naruto grinned; almost immediately the warmth exploded outwards and, suddenly, he could see his surroundings again. Looking down at his palm, he smiled at the small orb of chakra that was simply laying over his palm.

It lit up the area around him, creating light so Naruto didn't have to fear the darkness anymore as a child.

And he never did again.

This was Naruto's chakra - capable of becoming visible and solid to the world.

And, yesterday, he found out there was even more to it than that...

 **XxMaelstormxX**

 _Naruto smiled; a true, joyful, smile that would send warmth and happiness to any onlookers. It would fill them up in their entirety, a smile that was capable of destroying all the darkness in one's heart. A smile that was created from the morbid situation that Naruto was born into and grew with every situation that the blonde haired Jinchuuriki encountered._

 _It was a special smile, utilized only in special moments - such as the case now._

 _He felt butterflies flying in his stomach making him feel giddy, happier than a hundred bowls of ramen could make him. Reaching his hand towards his forehead, he touched the fabric of the headband that replaced his goggles, slowly dragging his hand across its length until it met the cold touch of steel._

 _He memorized every nook and cranny, saving this memory to his mind in all ways he could imagine._

 _This was_ his _headband! A headband that acknowledged his hard work and dedication, more than that, it also held a bond between teacher and student - no, they were even closer than that._

 _A warm smile, something that would make girls glow red in the face and make grown women feel the urge to glomp him with their breasts; fortunately, there were no onlookers at the moment._

 _Not even Iruka-sensei could see this smile, his unconscious form resting against the back of the tree after their special moment, but Naruto was sure he could feel it._

 _He brushed away the tears that were streaming down his cheeks as his face lit up; someone acknowledged him for the first time in his life._

 _And it felt amazing._

 _Shaking his head, Naruto took off his orange jacket and rested it on Iruka's body so he didn't get cold. Right now wasn't the time to get emotional, it was time to be a ninja._

 _Narrowing his eyes, Naruto thought, "Iruka-sensei is unconscious and I have a prisoner with me right now. I have to get Iruka-sensei to the hospital and bring Mizuki-teme to the Hokage." Noting the scroll that was a couple yards away from him, Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "And the scroll...Can't forget the scroll."_

 _Naruto's curious blue eyes glanced back at the scroll, cracking his fingers nervously, "Maybe...One more glance won't hurt…"_

 _It's not like the Hokage was watching him with that pervy crystal ball, he couldn't because Naruto's chakra was greater - much greater - than the Hokage's. The trick behind the crystal ball is that he can only spy on people with less chakra - aka: civilian girls._

 _The pervert._

 _Moving over to where he left the scroll, he quickly unrolled it, his eager eyes taking in as much information as could._

 _His head spinning from the overload of information, he narrowed his eyes and focused on a single jutsu instead of reading as much as he could. Excitement dancing in his eyes, he flipped to a random page and began to read the first thing that showed up._

 _ **Yin Release: Kokuangyo no Jutsu (Bringer of Darkness Technique)**_

 _Naruto's eyes widened in astonishment and he exclaimed loudly, "WHEN THE FUCK DID THIS HAPPEN."_

 _Immediately clapping his hands over his mouth, he quickly looked behind him, hoping beyond hope that he didn't wake Iruka up. Thankfully, it seems that there was a God watching over him and Iruka never even twitched, still in the deep clutches of sleep._

 _Smiling he turned back to the scroll before narrowing his eyes, this time thinking, "Okay. I'm not an idiot." Sweat dropping, he continued, "Okay, I am an idiot, but I can be smart at times as well! I remember that Iruka-sensei taught us that there were five nature releases - advanced applications of chakra that Chunin usually knew how to do and Jonin were required to know. There was Katon, Futon, Raiton, Doton, and Suiton, making up the five elements."_

 _Naruto nodded to himself, this was right, "But since when did we have a Yin Release? What the hell even is that?" Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, he decided to just read on._

 _ **Yin Release: Kokuangyo no Jutsu (Bringer of Darkness Technique)**_

 _This technique exerts a hallucinatory effect upon the eyesight, effectively blinding the opponent. No matter how skilled an opponent may be, they are forced to wait helpless in this world of darkness, as this technique allows the user to attack unseen. Although it negates sight, it does not stop the other senses._

 _ **Rank**_ _\- A-Class_

 _ **Classification**_ _\- Supplementary_

 _ **Range**_ _\- Short to Mid Range_

 _ **Hand Seals**_ _\- Dragon, Snake, Ram, Ox, Tiger (X2)_

 _Naruto eyes glistened happily as his thoughts raced by, "I was hoping for some kick ass explosion jutsu, but this seems pretty damn awesome too! Creating a field of darkness! While it doesn't have a lot of "Boom" or "Pow" it's still pretty cool! Besides having a different type of trick up your sleeve is a good thing as well!"_

 _Eagerly bringing his hands up to give it a try, he quickly went to form the first hand seal. Unfortunately, he never got the chance to continue when a familiar voice struck him dead._

" _Ha...Haha." The voice laughed mockingly behind him; Naruto could tell that even laughing was straining his already beaten body, "Having fun there, fox boy."_

 _Naruto's hair stood up and he growled, the sound rumbling across the field as he spun around, facing his old teacher, "Mizuki-teme!"_

 _And it was Mizuki, looking beaten and weak, but still with that arrogant, cocky, grin on his face. You would think he would lose it after being embarrassed and beaten over and over again by not just as academy student, but the dead last as well. "Naruto-kun! Is that any way to speak to your dear teacher!"_

" _Shut up!" Naruto growled, bringing his hands up and forming the familiar hand seal of the Kage Bunshin, "I kicked your ass once already. I don't think you'll like your second chance against me."_

 _Mizuki tsked at him and shook his head mockingly like he was talking to a silly child who knew nothing of the world, "I don't think you want to do that…" Mizuki said with a teasing smile, "You don't want to have your dear sensei waking up from his slumber in Hell, do you?"_

 _Naruto froze, looking down at Mizuki's arm that was holding Iruka by his pony tail. Thankfully, Iruka was still sleeping, but a kunai resting at his throat certainly didn't reassure Naruto in any way._

 _Naruto was very aware of his racing heart beat; he just found his first precious person and now someone was threatening to take him away. He didn't even notice the way his chakra raged around him, begging to be released, to ravage the opponent in front of him. If he was paying attention to anything besides Iruka's face, he might've noticed the voice rumbling through his head, urging him to do it. To kill the human before him._

 _The blonde haired Jinchuuriki growled, but this time it was a lot more animalistic than before; you could particularly_ hear _the chakra that was laced with the words coming out of his mouth, "What the_ _ **fuck**_ _, Mizuki! That's dirty! Fight me like a man."_

 _Naruto tried the only thing he could think of; egging on the bastard's cockiness, his anger, to make him forget about Iruka and fight him man to man. Mock him until he loses control and attacks him; unfortunately, while the idea was sound, he wasn't pranking Mizuki-sensei anymore, he was pranking a full grown Shinobi._

 _Mizuki laughed, cutting Iruka's cheek ever-so-slightly causing blood to drip down from his face, "Welcome to the world of Shinobi, boy. Remember these words: We don't play fair. We make our own conditions, our own rules in order to win. Winning is everything in the world of Shinobi. You're just a fool if you don't know this. A small boy trying to_ _ **play**_ _ninja, that's why you'll die here today." Mizuki chuckled darkly; fortunately for him, his eyes closed the moment Naruto's eyes flashed crimson - signifying his rage. "A real Ninja wouldn't have stopped at just beating their enemy, they would restrain their enemy, slap an explosion tag on their fucking face to make sure they don't move! You did none of that! You left me unrestrained since you thought I was unconscious. You are a fool!"_

 _Naruto's fists clenched in anger; even if he hated Mizuki, the words he spoke were true. That's what a true Shinobi would do. If he had been thinking more clearly, he would've binded Mizuki immediately._

 _But he didn't. And he was about to pay the price for his mistake._

 _Naruto took a step closer, but Mizuki responded by bringing the Kunai closer to Iruka's throat, drawing a line of blood, "Nononono." Mizuki smiled playfully, "If you take another step, your precious Iruka dies."_

 _Naruto froze mid-step as Mizuki continued, "Here are my demands: place the scroll next to you." Mizuki gave him a deranged smirk that made the blonde haired Genin growl, "And then: kill yourself."_

 _Naruto looked at Mizuki in disbelief, he couldn't be serious? The blonde's eyes narrowed; this was Mizuki, the one who hated him since he day he was born, of course he was serious._

" _What to do…" Naruto thought to himself quickly as his eyes flashed crimson once again._

 _Glancing around the clearing, Naruto thought of anything he could do or use to get out of this situation. Unfortunately, Mizuki saw those looks and smirked, "That won't do at all! I guess you don't care about your precious Iruka-sensei then, Naruto." Shrugging with a dark smile, he continued, "What can you expect from a demon, though. I guess Iruka will have to pay for your mistakes then."_

 _Naruto glared at him and Mizuki was annoyed to realize he actually took a step back in fear, finally noting how the blonde's eyes flashed dangerously between red and blue, "If you kill Iruka-sensei, you'll have nothing left to keep me here. I'll be free to kick your ass. Don't you get it, Mizuki…" Naruto smirked, the grin of a prankster, "Iruka-sensei is_ _ **your**_ _lifeline, not mine."_

 _Mizuki brow furrowed; things weren't going great for him. He never expected for the blonde retard to actually figure it out. It was true: Iruka_ _ **was**_ _his lifeline, he needed him as a hostage to be able to get out of this alive. Without Iruka, Naruto would kill him._

 _So he couldn't kill Iruka._

 _Mizuki grinned dangerously, "Who said anything about killing him, fox boy?" Bringing up his arm that held a kunai in his hand, he brought it down, aiming for Iruka's arm, "I'll just stab him repeatedly until you give me what I want!"_

 _Naruto saw red._

 _And then Mizuki was painted in red._

 _Mizuki spewed blood out of his mouth, quickly covering the holes in his body with his hands, staring in disbelief at the blonde haired boy who did this to him as he hung suspended in the air. Mizuki threw his head downwards as blood flowed up his throat, begging to be released; the sound of heaving filled the clearing._

" _What...The fuck?" Those were the only words that could come out of Mizuki's mouths and, surprisingly enough, they described the situation well. Even Iruka, if he was awake, would blink in shock at the scene taking place before him._

 _Blood splattered on the ground as the pale haired Shinobi looked at the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi in growing fear, the shock suddenly out of his system as he realized his life threatening situation. He could hear the blood - his blood - splatter on the ground like huge rain drops._

 _It didn't make any sense._

 _It happened so quickly that Mizuki couldn't even understand what happened. He could only see his blood flying out of his body as he was picked up from the ground by some object._

 _And the next thing he knew, he was pierced with holes all over his body, while being restrained in the air. It was a pretty dead-on summary, but here was how it went down._

 _Before Mizuki even move his Kunai an inch downwards, Naruto roared in fury, eyes burning red in rage. Feeling the impossibly heavy killing intent directed at his body, Mizuki immediately stopped the motion of his kunai - he would live to say that he stopped of his own free will, but he knew that was a lie, the killing intent was so heavy that he couldn't move - his body trembling in fear as he looked over at the blood-red eyes of the Jinchuuriki._

 _It happened too quickly for Mizuki to see, but almost as if his eyes could see what was happening, his eyes gained a tint of horror. Suddenly two chains burst out of Naruto's body, one from each hand that swayed in the air like a snake._

 _It flew through the air and wrapped itself around Naruto, hugging and gliding across his skin. Obviously, they weren't normal chains. They were chains made out of chakra and while there appearances resembled chains, their tips were different. Instead of ending with a connected link like the rest of its body, it had the head of a oriental dragon each with a pair of glowing red eyes._

 _The next thing Naruto noted was that the two chains were completely different from each other, like different sides of a coin. One of the dragon chains was completely black with a shroud of black chakra surrounding it like a blade and its sheath. With its fearsome red eyes, it would send fear through_ _ **anyone's**_ _body._

 _The second chain was completely white, the purest color of white Naruto had ever seen and, similar to the first chakra chain, it was surrounded by a white shroud and wrapped around Naruto protectively. With its glowing red eyes, it appeared graceful and beautiful, stunning and cold, giving off completely different feelings than the first chain._

 _While the black chain would strike fear in anyone's heart with the amount of power it was giving off, the white chain froze you with its gaze as if you were in the presence of a greater being._

 _They moved around Naruto eerily almost as if they were conscious of their actions and were protecting Naruto of their own free will._

 _Naruto shuddered at the feeling of a chain slowly wrapping itself around its neck, almost as if it was nuzzling him. The blonde haired boy's face would've flushed pink if there wasn't rage in his eyes, something that the chains were quickly made aware of and turned their gazes towards Mizuki._

 _Mizuki didn't even have a chance to move before Naruto threw his right hand forward - alongside of the black dragon chain. The black chain moved like lightning, easily covering the distance between Mizuki and Naruto within a second._

 _Before Mizuki could react, the dark colored chain pierced through his body like it was made of water. The black chain didn't stop there - Naruto willed it to attack again and again; the black dragon chain responded to his wishes._

 _Bringing his hands backwards, the chain responded to Naruto's thoughts and pierced through Mizuki - who still wasn't able to respond from the first attack - again. It pierced through his body again and again before wrapping itself around Mizuki until the pale haired Shinobi was wrapped with chains and suspended in the air._

 _Finally, Mizuki was able to register the pain he received within seconds and blood spewed out of his mouth. This brings us back to the present._

 _Naruto's rage filled red eyes glared up at Mizuki as he spewed more blood out of his mouth. Naruto clenched the chain in his hand and watched, fascinated, as the chain clenched itself tighter around Mizuki causing him to throw up even more blood like a fountain._

 _Mizuki managed to look down at the blonde haired boy, speaking between gasps, "What...The hell...Is this?" Naruto didn't respond for two reasons: one - he didn't know the answer himself; two - why the fuck would he tell that to the person who tried to kill both him and his precious teacher._

 _Regardless, Mizuki continued to speak, panicking, "What the fuck did you do to me!"_

 _Naruto simply raised an eyebrow before responding in a deadpan tone, "...You were stabbed. Repeatedly."_

 _If glares could kill, Naruto would be ten feet under by now as Mizuki screeched in a delusional fashion, "Not that! My chakra! What did you do to my chakra! And my body!"_

 _Naruto raised his other eyebrow in confusion; he didn't do anything to Mizuki's chakra...At least, he didn't think he did. Naruto glanced at the black chain that was wrapped around Mizuki._

 _Could it be…?_

 _Mizuki roared again, tears streaming down his face, "I can't feel it! I can't feel my chakra! Where is it! What did you do! My strength! My power! I feel so weak! Where did you put it! Where did you hide it! Give it back!"_

 _Naruto watched in disbelief as Mizuki went berserk, roaring, but not moving as if he didn't have any strength left in him. Tears streamed down his face as he roared in a panic. It was almost as if he was a child again, like someone had taken something that belonged to him forever and he couldn't handle not having it anymore..._

 _Naruto didn't think his reaction was because of the holes punctured through his body._

" _This chain…" Naruto thought carefully before shaking his head, "I don't have time to think. I'll finish this." The blonde's red eyes hardened, "_ _ **I will NOT make the same mistake twice!"**_

 _Naruto didn't know why he did it; he already had Mizuki restrained and weak. Perhaps it was the curiosity or maybe it was the fact that he somehow knew Mizuki wouldn't die from it, but, nonetheless, he did it._

 _Naruto willed the white dragon chain to move towards Mizuki._

 _And it did._

 _It shot through the air even faster than the black chain did, aiming towards Mizuki as fast as possible. It covered the distance as easily as the black dragon chain did and immediately pierced through Mizuki._

 _Only this time - it didn't "hit" Mizuki._

 _There was no blood, no anything, even Mizuki stopped his bawling to look in shock at the chain that_ _ **passed**_ _through his body like it was intangible._

 _Naruto glanced at the chain in disbelief as he willed it to pierce Mizuki again and again - it didn't hesitate, but it still didn't "hit" Mizuki. It passed through him again and again to the point that it seemed more like a gag than anything else._

 _It wasn't physically hurting Mizuki, but Naruto knew it was doing something on a more spiritual level. The blonde haired boy felt it before he realised it - the feeling of chakra being drained out of Mizuki's body and slowly being fed into his own body, healing the few scratches on his body and strengthening his diminishing chakra levels._

 _Mizuki started laughing, it was so delusional and happy that it was almost sad, "Hahahaha! Your stupid chains ca-"_

 _And then Mizuki fell unconscious._

 _He watched the two chains suspend Mizuki in the air for a few moments before recalling them into his skin; leaving an unconscious Chunin that had all of his chakra and strength drained with numerous holes over his body caused by the repeated piercings of his black chain._

 _Naruto smirked as he created a Kage Bunshin to tie up Mizuki while he went to pick up Iruka._

 **XxMaelstormxX**

As much as Naruto hated to admit it, Mizuki taught him a lot that night; more than he ever taught him throughout the entirety of the academy,

It was actually kind of depressing to think about.

Shaking his head, he returned to his previous thoughts; Mizuki taught him how true Shinobi acted, how they fought, and how they won.

" _Welcome to the world of Shinobi, boy. Remember these words: We don't play fair. We make our own conditions, our own rules in order to win. Winning is everything in the world of Shinobi."_

Naruto heard those words echo again and again in his mind causing him to groan into his hands before dropping his back onto the ground and resting his body. The blonde haired boy hummed to himself in thought before speaking out loud, "While Mizuki is a fucking bastard...He was right about me. I wasn't a Shinobi when I fought him...I was just a kid with his head in the clouds."

Smashing his hand into the ground beside him, he felt his eyes burn, "I'm...an awful ninja. The old man basically told me the same thing, hammering in all the points that Mizuki mentioned." Smashing his other fist into the ground beside him, he closed his eyes, "They're both right. I'm not a good ninja...Right now."

The villagers and his peers had often called him a moron - maybe they had been right in doing so - but, to his limited understanding of the world, a moron only remained as such if he didn't learn from past mistakes. 

Smashing his feet into the ground, Naruto flipped so he was standing upright, a huge grin beaming across his face as he exclaimed to himself, "That's why I'm going to get stronger! I'll become a ninja like no other! Today's the starting point! The line where I begin my journey and I won't fail!" Determination burned in his cerulean blue eyes, "I'll become the strongest and I'll never back down, dattebayo!"

Smiling at the sky, Naruto placed his arms behind his head as he thought to himself, " _So...My Taijutsu sucks - even though I can beat a lot of my class due to my speed, strength, and endurance - my Genjutsu is inexistent, but my Ninjutsu is extremely high for an academy student - hell, the old man said I was sitting well above the rest of my class!"_

Counting off his Ninjutsu with his fingers, Naruto spoke to himself, "I have the _Kage Bunshin_ , _Kawarimi, Henge,_ technically I'll have that Yin Release technique as well if I ever learn how to use it, and…" Naruto grinned to himself, "My newest coolest attack: My _Chakra Chains!"_ Humming to himself softly, Naruto spoke again, "I'll have to come up with a cool name for it though; chakra chains are too plain. Maybe a name for each of my chains?"

Slamming his fist into the palm of his hand, he remembered something, "I haven't even tried out my Uzumaki chains since yesterday! I still have to see what they can do!"

Closing his eyes, he concentrated on his chakra, feeling every ripple and movement as it ran through his body. Charging his chakra up in his right and left hand, he felt a familiar feeling and pulled at it.

It took only a few moments before the chakra exploded out of his body externally and swayed around him. Opening his eyes, he was met with the sight of two dragon chains revolving around his body.

Grinning at his success, he glanced at the chains and nodded to himself, "Yes! I was right! They're extremely badass looking!"

Naruto _swore_ the chains moved around bashfully, gaining a red tint as they glided across his body, but when he blinked, it vanished.

" _Weird."_

Shaking his head, Naruto smiled at his cool looking chains before speaking out loud, "Let's see what these bad boys can do!"

Throwing his hands forward, he willed for the white shrouded chakra chain to move towards the tree. From what Naruto could tell from last night, the chains responded to his thoughts and listened to his will.

Unfortunately for him, he still wasn't good at controlling his chains; at least, that's what Naruto thought was the problem when - instead of destroying the tree that rested in front of him - the White Dragon's red eyes stared into his own.

Before Naruto could say another word, he fell into the blissful embrace of unconsciousness.

 **XxMaelstormxX**

 **Well, that's it for Chapter One.**

 **How'd you like it? I've had so many ideas for a new Naruto Fanfiction and** _ **this**_ **was the result of all my ideas in a story. Full plot, slight gag, and all action. It's going to be a long ride if I ever decide to finish it.**

 **Important Notes**

 **The first couple chapters are a bit slow paced - even if they always are relevant to the story - so, to counter this, I'll be updating this story once every week to a week and a half; only for the first couple of chapters though. This story is probably going to be updated the most out of all my stories - depending on the reception, of course. It's pretty easy to write and makes for a good story to continue whenever I have a writing block. I have most of the plot written down so chapters should be frequent. Chapters will range from 8k-15k. If it ever surpassed 15k, it'll be split into two chapters.**

 **Anyways, this is probably going to be a great notice for anyone who's read my other Naruto story: Everything Blooms Twice. I was in the middle of writing the second chapter for it when I decided to start another story. With this story, I now have three main fanfictions (Fallen Prince, Everything Blooms Twice, Maelstrom). The second chapter will be out before September starts!**

 **If you liked the first chapter, make sure to review, follow, and favorite! It's an author's drug and the reason we upload more chapters!**

 **See you next time!**

 **[Shameless Advertizing]**

 **Be sure to check out The Fallen Prince and Everything Blooms Twice if you're a fan of Naruto or Naruto X One Piece crossovers!**


	2. Chapter 2: Chance Meeting

**Maelstrom**

 _ **Chapter Two**_

 _Chance Meeting_

Naruto was comfortable; this was a fact, a consensus that would be found in any world that the blonde haired protagonist could find himself in. It wouldn't be an overestimation if he said it was the most comfortable he's ever been in his life, easily surpassing the comfort given by his queen-sized bed and couch residing within his apartment.

It was a feeling like no other; this warmth - so godly and comforting - made him feel like he was sleeping on a cloud, something that wouldn't be so out of place in his dreams. He thought it was just that - a dream, a place where his wishes could become reality.

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, that wasn't the case here and he quickly realized this as he found himself stirring from his pleasant slumber.

But the warmth never dispersed; no, it became even more _prominent_ as his awareness came back in force. While he was aware that he should be freaking out right now, jumping onto his feet to check out his surroundings like any ninja would...He just couldn't.

He was just so damn _comfortable_.

A few minutes couldn't hurt.

And so he snuggled into the warmth, grasping the cloud like substance under him, Naruto rested his head and allowed himself to relax.

It definitely beat the ground he was resting on before…

His eyebrow twitched; okay, maybe he _really_ should get up. Naruto couldn't feel the ground underneath him, instead it actually _felt_ like he was resting on a cloud - especially his head.

" _Just a few seconds ago I was out in my training field. How the hell...Did I end up here."_ His facial expression didn't change once even as he continued to strain his mind, " _I was testing out my chakra chains and the next thing I know...I'm here. What happened?"_

Unfortunately, his thoughts bore no fruit, mostly due to the level of relaxation he was currently at; his head felt it was on a whole different level of nirvana, but as his senses awakened from his slumber, he slowly became aware of something soft and long caressing his face like a warm summer breeze. The gentle nature of its touch sent butterflies fluttering through his stomach; he resisted the urge to purr like a cat.

Ninjas don't _purr._

The soft ministrations sent him into overdrive, savoring every soft caress as it moved across his face, flowing from his cheeks to his forehead before moving on again. The warmth that appeared in his body made him feel like pudding; fortunately for Naruto - even with these gentle touches - he was capable of keeping a sound mind and made notes on the object of his investigation.

They were smooth alongside of being soft to the touch; it made for an amazing combination with the warmth he was surrounding with.He reveled in these feelings, enjoying the moment while it lasted, as it caressed his face lovingly.

Naruto knew one thing though: it definitely wasn't the touch of a hand. It was thin and long, separated into groups of strands; that was all he could make out.

It was almost like...

He stifled a laugh - pushing his previous thoughts away at the same time - as a ticklish feeling erupted inside him as the almost massage-like treatment continued to caress him until it made there way to his nose.

Coincidentally, he breathed in through his nose at that very moment, inhaling a very strong wiff of the object. The scent was so strong, so sweet, that his eyes opened to take in the image that was offering him such a serene, comforting, scent - the smell of strawberries.

"What beautiful red hair."

Needless to say, Naruto was a very honest person, often speaking the first thing that came to his mind. Today wasn't any different; no, he supposed that was wrong. The urge he felt at seeing the lovely red strands was so much stronger than his usual eccentric personality.

And, indeed, she did have lovely red hair. Long strands of blood-red hair cascaded from her head like a waterfall, caressing his face and obstructing his entire vision except for the face that looked over him; soft violet eyes met his own cerulean blue eyes and pale white skin - not so much as to make her look unhealthy; no, pale enough to make a perfect contrast with her lovely red hair - were taken in by his wandering blue eyes.

This was the sight that Naruto was met with when he opened his eyes: a beautiful young woman that couldn't possibly be any older than her early twenties. Mixed with her appearance were the feelings of warmth and safety, influencing his thoughts until a single statement was locked in his mind.

She looked almost like an angel.

Naruto's lips twisted upwards as the woman flushed red, pink making its way onto her pale cheeks as she heard his comment on her hair.

" _Cute."_

A thirteen year old boy calling a woman cute; it would've sounded odd to anyone's ears, but there was no other way to describe the woman with bright pink cheeks in front of him. She was beautiful without a doubt, but as her cheeks colored pink and her violet eyes widened in surprise before looking away from his face, she made for an incredibly endearing sight.

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end. Today was no different.

 _Finally,_ Naruto realized this wasn't a dream; he was very much awake. He confirmed this by pinching himself slightly and, seeing how he was still here, he could only assume that this was his reality - as odd as it may seem. The blonde haired boy finally took the time to take in his surroundings as the red haired girl took the time to fight off her blush; thankfully, it seemed like it was going to take a while - not just for the woman, but for himself as well.

He _really_ needed time understand his strange - that was an understatement, but, for lack of a better word, that was all the blonde Jinchuuriki could come up with - surroundings, but the only thing Naruto managed to realize was that he was resting on a beautiful woman's lap. Remembering all the thoughts he had just minutes ( _Hours? Days? His sense of time was messed up here to the point that he could make nothing of it._ ) about how he was so comfortable, like he was resting on a cloud, his face glowed like a light that was switched on.

This time it was Naruto's turn to blush as he immediately disappeared from his current position - moving so quickly it almost looked like he used a _Shunshin_ to get out of there.

"Sorry!" Naruto immediately blurted, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, "I didn't know I was resting on your lap…"

He didn't even consider the fact that he didn't purposely lay there; which meant _someone_ had to place him on the late teen's lap. Violet eyes met cerulean once again as her face regained its regal complexion, her blush dying down and, for a few precious moments, silence reigned across the clearing...Area...Place…

" _Wait…"_

Blinking in surprise, Naruto looked around and noted he - alongside of the pretty redhead - were standing in a golden-white emptiness. Naruto was usually a very descriptive person, but he had no idea how to describe the world surrounding him rather than _empty._

Turning his head in all directions, repeatedly turning left and right in astonishment. Naruto was shocked to find that he couldn't even find an _end_ to the emptiness; the golden wonderland spread on and on endlessly! Looking towards his feet, he was shocked to find that the golden emptiness expanded downwards as well - similarly to all the other directions, Naruto couldn't find even a _hint_ of an end. In awe, Naruto found that he was _floating_! Almost immediately, his stomach began to flutter as a shocking sense of disorientation struck him, making his head spin slightly.

His mind couldn't keep up with such an obvious tear in the rules of the universe and he quickly averted his eyes from the anomaly before him. Cerulean blue eyes followed little white shooting stars as they flew past them, streaking across the sky from sizes ranging to the size of ants to meteorites! Nodding his head as if he realized something, Naruto confirmed to himself that he most definitely wasn't in his training ground anymore.

Hell, he didn't even know if he was in the same world anymore!

"Where the fuck am I, dattebayo!"

Naruto's reaction was justifiable; seriously, what else could you possibly say when you were pretty much abducted and placed into a different dimension - since _really_ what else could this be but another space? What if he was captured by enemy ninja? Narrowing his eyes, he remembered falling unconscious on the Training Field when he was about to test out his chains. Could it be that someone knocked him out...

Fortunately, a melodious giggle brought himself out of those morbid - but _realistic,_ his Shinobi instincts were quick to remind him - thoughts; rearing his head upwards, he rested his blue eyes on the female who was producing those gentle sounds.

Naruto is a very honest person, this was made clear from the way he spoke his last two sentences; he also wasn't aware of social etiquette in any way, meaning he was a very straightforward young man often speaking without thinking before hand.

"You have a beautiful laugh!"

For the second time today, the woman flushed pink almost as if she hadn't been complimented before or, perhaps, it was due to the innocent way the blonde said it. His words were so honest and pure, clean of any hidden intentions; it was hard to _not_ blush.

And then Naruto received a beautiful smile that made his knees tremble - which befuddled him; he couldn't quite understand why he felt so _weak_ all of a sudden - as the redhead spoke for the first time today, "Thank you."

Her words were as melodious as her laughter; beautiful, smooth, capable of bringing both men and women down to their knees. Fortunately for Naruto, he didn't quite understand those feelings and he was easily able to bounce right back up.

Sending her a blinding smile, the cerulean eyed boy responded cheerily, "No need to thank me! Just speaking the truth."

The redhead's lips twitched upwards, amusement dancing in her eyes, "Well aren't you a smooth talker."

Naruto simply shrugged and sent her an impish grin, "It's more around the case that I don't think before I talk."

She returned his impish smile with one of her own and watched as the blonde haired boy began to look around once again, attempting to understand his peculiar surroundings. The redhead was quick to take the chance to observe him and take in his appearance - something that the blonde noted and subtly returned.

It's not like there was anything else to look at and, besides, they were the only two in this strange space; that had to mean something, right?

She - Naruto found that it was getting annoying just to refer to her as 'she' and made a note to ask for her name - was sitting with her knees against the ground and with her butt resting on her legs. Like he thought before, the red haired beauty was young, appearing to be in her late teens, possibly around the age of 21 or 22.

She had a graceful, princess-like feel even as she sat down, giving off the air of royalty and possessing the appearance of a goddess. The woman had a slender, but feminine build, fair skin, violet eyes, and beautiful red hair, reaching way past her shoulders and farther than her alluringly round ass, almost making it all the way down to her ankles. Her attire consisted of a short-sleeved, tan/yellowish kimono-like blouse with a dark embroidered border, held closed with a black obi, a dark short skirt and stockings that stopped at her thighs alongside of brown sandals.

Naruto's cerulean blue eyes were then dragged from her appearance to her more _curvaceous_ parts. Even the young adolescent couldn't help but notice the beauty's more... _adult_ features. Her bust was _huge_ and he could easily notice the size of the mounds hiding behind her kimono-like blouse. Naruto never really cared much about a woman's figure - only studying them to create his _Oiroke no Jutsu_ since so many men were weak to them - but even he had to acknowledge the mouth watering figure the redhead possessed.

Naruto's eyebrow twitched at his other worldly thoughts...Puberty sucks.

Unknowingly to him, but that was about to be embarrassingly fixed, the redhead was watching him with amusement before speaking in a teasing fashion, a hand waving down her body, "See something you like?"

Of course, it was just Naruto's luck that he would be caught staring for the first time in his life. Wasn't there a saying: First time's the charm or something? Why the hell was this happening to him when he didn't even mean to do it in the first place! Pink flushed into his cheeks and he raised his arms in futile denial.

He swear he didn't squeak when she called him out on it.

Ninjas _don't_ squeak.

Plopping onto the ground...space in front of her, Naruto looked down to hide his rosy red cheeks before mumbling out a single word like a beaten puppy, "...Sorry."

Her giggle reached his ears and he looked up in a hopeful fashion - this woman was the first person to talk to him, the Jinchuuriki of the _Kyuubi no Yoko,_ willingly...Even if he was in some tripped out space, it didn't make a difference.

She still talked to him like a human being.

And he _really_ didn't want that to change because of puberty...Even if they probably wouldn't see each other again after getting out of...Wherever the hell they were.

Hopeful eyes glanced at the redhead before him and she was quick to speak, "Don't be sorry. I'm happy Master likes my appearance that he would ogle me so blatantly."

There were many things wrong with that sentence - the way he was both insulted and forgiven being one of them; seriously, Naruto would've considered that impressive if he wasn't on the receiving end of her words - but one word stuck out in particular, which was signified by Naruto's jaw dropping. He quickly backed away from her on his hands and knees and stuttered, "M-M-M...MASTER!?"

The games had begun. Poor Naruto.

The woman crawled forward, playfully stalking after him like a lioness hunting her prey, "Mhmm." She confirmed, "Master."

In the presence of such intimidating beauty, Naruto backed off even more, until the redhead's seductive smirk stunned him and rooted him to the spot. As if thanking Naruto for the opportunity, she took her time moving on her hands and knees, reeking sexuality out of every pore. Naruto's pupils were abnormally dilated, as if his eyes did not want to miss a single alluring detail.

" _She's totally playing me."_

But even if he knew this, Naruto was still a helpless blushing mess. How the _hell_ was anyone supposed to prepare against something like _this_. Seriously, this was bad for his ninja career...For all male Ninjas. Kunoichi _had_ to take seduction classes in order to become a Jack of all Trades and in order to pull assassinations off more easily.

A Kunoichi who knows how to flaunt her assets is a good Ninja.

Simple as that.

Sure, male Ninjas were given classes on how to respond to situations like the one he was currently in, but no amount of preparation could possibly prepare you for the real thing.

All guys would fall prey to the woman in front of him, no matter how much resistance training they had. She was _that_ sexy.

" _And she's totally playing me too!"_

Again. These thoughts didn't help him in anyway.

Kurenai Yuhi - the heralded Ice Queen of Konohagakure - had nothing on her. The redhead surpassed her in appearance and everything else, Naruto couldn't imagine the red-eyed beauty could give off as much...Seductive power as the redhead before him. She managed to make every single one of her actions as sexy as possible.

The swaying of her hips as she crawled forward, her sensuous movements as she came closer; she was seduction personified.

Naruto's brain couldn't handle this suddenly twist; he was made for fighting, not _this,_ damn it. He blurted out words as she came closer in weak resistance, "W-W-What the hell's wrong with you!"

Naruto tripped over his hands and could only stare as the redhead came closer and closer to his face, moving at a tantalizingly slow pace. Her voice a mere whisper, taunting him, teasing him, _embarrassing_ him, "With me? Nothing." She smiled in that seductive way of hers, "Ab-sol-ute-ly not-hing, Mas-ter." With every syllable she pronounced, the redhead took another sensual step forward, her hips swaying with every movement until she was practically looming over him.

His blue eyes closed in shock, his brain shutting down as she brought her face closer to him, her violet eyes hypnotizing him until he could only shut his eyes, afraid - the only word that he could think of to describe what he was feeling right now; although, it certainly wasn't the correct feeling, his mind just couldn't place the feelings he was currently having - of what this strange woman was going to do to him.

Naruto expected many things.

 _Flick._

He did not, however, expect that.

"Ow!" Naruto groaned as he brought a hand up to his forehead, rubbing the now red spot from the woman's flick. The sudden rush of pain killed his whirlwind of previous emotions - feelings he didn't have the vocabulary to place, but, putting it simply, he was _turned_ on - and he regained control of his feelings.

Once again: puberty sucks.

Naruto growled and glared up at the laughing redhead, who was trying her best to not fall over laughing, "What the hell you weirdo! What was _that_ for!"

" _That_ was for ogling me and getting caught, dattebane!" The redhead said with a playful smile, watching as the blonde's expression shifted from embarrassment to disbelief and, eventually, ended in annoyance. Naruto was _so_ caught up in his feelings that he didn't even notice the woman's word tick; fortunately, the redhead didn't notice either, otherwise she would've been a blushing mess at revealing her embarrassing word tick.

In any case, this flick made sure to dismiss any tension that might've been lingering over them from all of the unknown elements; a more playful atmosphere was created.

"What the hell!" Naruto pouted, pointing a finger at her, "First of all: it was an accident! Besides you said you weren't angry!

The redhead waved him off, a teasing smirk lingering on her face, "I'm not angry about _that_. I flicked you for a completely different reason!" Seeing the urging look in his blue eyes, she wagged a single finger at the blonde haired child, "A _real_ ninja wouldn't get caught."

Naruto's eyebrow twitched; _that_ was the reason she completely embarrassed him! She totally pranked him - the king of pranks! If the people of Konoha heard of this, his entire reputation would be ruined! The pout fell and a smirk slowly took its place on his face; didn't she know? This game was two player, "So it's fine as long as I don't get caught."

Naruto expected many things, some of which included her blushing bright like a star or even her stuttering out words in denial; what he _didn't_ expect was for her to send him a sweet smile - a competitive smile, a smile that didn't want to lose, a smile he's seen on his very _own_ face hundreds of times - before winking at him, sending a delightful shudder throughout his body as she placed a finger to her mouth, "That's a _secret,_ master _._ "

This really couldn't be good for his body; his face was going through so many color changes so quickly within a single minute that he was going to end up light headed by the end of this conversation.

The redhead continued, unaware of Naruto's inner struggle to control his whirlwind of emotions, "Besides, _Master_." He knew she was purposely stressing that word, he didn't need to see the teasing smile that laid on her lips to confirm his thoughts, "I remember hearing you realize _and_ confirm, both yesterday and today, that you were a terrible ninja." She grinned, slamming a fist into her chest - unknowingly making her chest _jiggle_ \- before continuing, "I'm simply helping you get better! A ninja who falls for seduction is a dead ninja! Besides; once you're done with this beauty's seduction lessons, there won't be a girl alive who'll be able to seduce you - well, except for _me_."

Naruto muttered, "Modest, aren't you?"

The redhead leaned towards his face causing color to flush his cheeks from their closeness, she poked his forehead, "But you think so too, right Master?"

Naruto just realised something curious she said before _(_ " _I remember hearing you realize and confirm, both yesterday and today, that you were a terrible ninja.")_ but those thoughts were destroyed once again by a single recurring word.

"M-M-M…" Naruto bit his lip to calm himself down, willing his blush downwards before glaring at the redhead; he couldn't even bring himself to say _that_ word without becoming a mess of red, "Very funny."

"But I'm not trying to be funny, Master."

"Stop saying that!"

"Stop saying what, Master?"

Twitch.

"Master?"

Twitch.

"Can you hear me, Master?"

Twitch. Twitch. Twitch.

"Master, please don't ignore me!" She placed a finger to her lips, her eyes sad like a kicked puppy, pulling at his heart strings, "I'm unhappy when Master doesn't address his poor slave…"

It was very possible that Naruto's poor twitching vein popped.

Naruto threw his hands into the air and jumped onto his feet, pointing his outraged index finger at the redhead as his face - undisturbed by his wishes to stop blushing - gained a pink tint before exclaiming, "Ok! That's it! Why!"

"Why what, Mas-"

"That! That word! Why are you calling me...M-M-M-Ma…" He took a deep breathing before growling out, "...Master." He groaned into his hands at saying it and peeking through his fingers to look at the redhead before him - curious of her answer, but almost unwilling to understand her reason.

It was a very complex feeling. He could only hope he would like her answer.

"You created me, Master! That's why you're Master."

Naruto didn't like her answer.

"Hold the fuck up!"

Placing a hand into the air to stop her as she opened her mouth, he fell onto his back again, staring at the golden ocean that laid above him - attempting to leave _that_ conversation behind him. He had to admit, the golden space above him was beautiful; a mirage of beauty that transformed, it swirled, switching from pattern to pattern, leaving him unable to discern any of his surroundings.

It almost felt like he was underwater.

" _It's definitely a weird place…"_ Naruto glanced at the redhead who was waiting patiently beside him, but - much like him - she didn't seem to have a great ability to stay patient, " _With weird people…"_ He smiled mentally, " _But it's beautiful…"_

He ignored his subconscious as it chanted with him, _"Both of them are."_

Naruto had to kill the urge to stab his subconscious 39 times in the chest with a rusty kunai.

Shaking his head from his strange thoughts, he took a deep breath before looking at the redhead before him warily, "Okay...Let's take this step by step. My brain isn't able to handle such developments."

The redhead only tilted her head in response, holding back a smile as she spoke in his support, "I'm sure you'll be able to handle it one day, Master!"

Naruto grumbled under his breath, "You're totally making fun of me."

A giggle was his response.

Naruto was really starting to like that sound.

His mood suddenly did a 180, shifting from his originally exhausted persona to a squirrel on steroids as his enthusiasm caught fire, flickering brightly as a huge grin sprouted on his face. Jumping on his feet, he started excitedly, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto: Future Hokage of Konohagakure, Part Time Prankster and Full Time Hero!" Giving her an exaggerated bow, he winked at her, "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance!"

Smiling at his enthusiasm, she returned his gesture - even going as far as to play along. Raising her yellow kimono slightly - revealing the tantalizingly smooth, creamy, long legs that resided underneath ( _Naruto was thankful that he was able to lock his eyes with her lovely violet orbs so he didn't follow the sensual movement of her kimono rising_ ) - and bowed her head ever-so-slightly, "The pleasure's all mine, Master. You may call me Kushina." He was instantly wary of her teasing smirk, "However, I am partial to 'You sexy thing you' or 'You fine piece of ass.'"

[ **A.N. - There is a** _ **very**_ **good reason why Kushina is acting like this. Finish the chapter before reading the author notes where I explain it.]**

A twitch of her lips; that was the only clue he was given to show she was amused by his reaction: the opening and closing of his mouth as he processed what Kushina said. "That would certainly boost my ego."

"Uh…no." Naruto boldly stated, speaking her name to show that he wouldn't be calling her _that,_ "Kushina."

"Very well." The girl readily acquiesced; it seemed the seduction lessons were already starting to take affect.

"You have a pretty name." Naruto complimented as he sat on the ground with his legs crossed.

Kushina blushed; for a girl who was so good at making others glow red in the face, she had a surprisingly lack of resistance. Surprisingly enough, it wasn't even too acts of seduction - Not that he would know and he _definitely_ wasn't planning on it. No, she was weak against earnest, honest, words. Grinning evilly in his mind, Naruto chuckled in his head; this information could be _very_ helpful.

It's a two player game after all. And a game Naruto didn't plan on losing.

Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Kushina responded shyly, "Thank you…"

Naruto really liked her personality, both her playful, outgoing side and her shy, easily embarrassed side.

It was cute.

Returning to her normal groove, Kushina grinned, "I like your name too! Naruto! It's a ramen condiment!"

"...It's also means Maelstrom, dattebayo."

Kushina didn't hear _his_ word tick either, distracted as she was by the wonderfulness of ramen.

"Ramen…" Kushina murmured happily, surprised to hear Naruto's voice mimicking hers, "The food of the gods."

Naruto blinked at the same time Kushina did and they instantly gripped each other's forearms, matching grins on their faces, "A fellow believer!"

"To think I'd meet one here...Wherever here is!" Naruto murmured the last part in wonder before shaking his head, letting go of her arm all the while.

Naruto blinked; recalling something else she said or, more specifically, a part she left out, Naruto spoke, "I don't recall you telling me your surname."

Kushina simply shrugged, indicating she had no clue as to what it was, "I don't remember it."

"Oh." Naruto replied; rubbing his chin thoughtfully, he grinned, "How does Kushina Uzumaki sound then?"

A flash of light, appearing almost like the sun shining in her face; that is what appeared in her mind when that name was uttered. Something fluttered in Kushina's mind, a memory or maybe even a thought; it rested at the tip of her tongue, she could see the back of the memory, it was within reach.

She touched it.

It slipped out of her fingers and then disappeared all together. Blinking in surprise, she returned to reality, turning red when seeing a worried Naruto hovering a centimeter away from her face.

"You okay?"

Kushina blushed at his tone, it was so worried, so caring. She smiled at him comfortingly, showing that she was fine - Since she pretty much was, nothing was wrong with her after all - and, taking a mark out of Naruto's page, she replied, "...Just dandy."

Smiling back, Naruto plopped back onto the ground, "So?" The Jinchuuriki asked a grin blooming on his face, "How do you like Kushina Uzumaki?"

There was no flash of light this time; she was somewhat disappointed, but she quickly pushed it down.

And blushed.

Squirming from side to side she looked to the ground and spoke timidly, "Master...To ask me so suddenly like this." She buried her hands in her face and squealed.

Suddenly, her reaction made sense to Naruto. The way to get a surname is through…

"To ask me to marry you so suddenly! M-M-Master...It's too sudden!" Kushina whispered in embarrassment, looking at Naruto through the gaps in-between her fingers.

For the sake for Naruto's sanity and the word count for this chapter, we skip ahead, moving past Naruto's long range of denials and calming down the flustered Kushina.

It was still cute though.

This brings us here with both Kushina and Naruto facing each other on the ground, silence reigning in the area until Naruto remembered something he wanted to ask for a while now...Even if he feared the answer.

"Right…so…umm…" Naruto struggled as to how to phrase this question, but decided to just go for it, "Why are you calling me Master." Raising his hand to stop her from talking, he added an additional part, "And don't say 'Because you created me.'"

The now named Kushina laughed slightly, "You already know me so well, Master." Smiling at her master's blush, she continued, "I think...I'll start from the beginning since I'm not exactly sure myself…"

Seeing his curious eyes, she continued, unable - even if she wished to, which she didn't - to deny her urge to please the boy before her, "Well, I was just created yesterday."

Naruto's eyes widened and, in a sudden display of brilliance, he whispered, "My chakra chains…" It wasn't very hard to figure out; the only difference from yesterday and every other day was the awakening of his chakra chains. Keeping account of her other statement, 'You created me' the puzzle pieces clicked together. If she was "born" yesterday, that could be the only possible scenario.

Kushina's eyes widened; she certainly didn't expect for him to figure it out so quickly, but, nonetheless, she smiled playfully, "You're right, Master." She wrapped her arms around herself and squirmed with a healthy blush on her face, "Although it makes me so happy for you to address me like I'm your possession. Saying so audaciously, ' **My** Chakra Chains."

Kushina couldn't stop herself - not that she wanted to - from continuing her words in the same manner ignoring Naruto's change in expression. She didn't know how to act - she had no memories to go by - she could only act on the feelings she held for the boy in front of her; which, surprisingly enough, she had **a lot** of.

"Oh gods." Naruto whispered, horrified at the words being said by Kushina, "Please stop."

"Hai!" She responded blissfully, a grin on her face as she looked at Naruto happily.

 _Too_ happily.

"That wasn't a command, " Naruto responded bluntly, quick to destroy her...Happiness.

" _...Seriously, master and slave? Does this look like a fucking shitty manga plot."_

No. It's a fucking shitty fanfiction plot. Get it right, retard.

"Mugyuu." She whispered despondently, looking down at the ground as he shut off her happiness.

Naruto rose an eyebrow, "Mugyuu?"

Somewhere in an entirely different fanfiction, a young Nine Tailed Fox by the name of Sayuri set fire to all of her surroundings.

Someone just stole her catch phrase.

Kushina deigned him with a pout and no response.

Silence went by for a few moments and Naruto groaned, speaking, "Please continue."

Kushina huffed at him playfully, crossing her arms under her bountiful cleavage - Naruto hated to admit that he followed the bounce that followed - before responding, "You're no fun…"

Naruto deadpanned, "I will not be a part of your sexual amusement."

"Mugyuu…"

"Stop saying that!" Naruto snapped before rolling his eyes as the red haired girl traced circles in the ground sadly, "Can you please continue, Kushina-chan."

And her head shot up at being addressed with such an affectionate attachment at the end of her name. Kushina grinned and continued happily, "Anyways, I was created yesterday!" Her grin dropped as a serious glint appeared in her face as she spoke carefully, "At least...That's what I assumed happen."

Naruto questioned curiously, "Why do you say that?"

"Well...It would go along with your Chakra Chain's special ability, but now that I think of it…" She bit her lip adorably as her violet eyes _glowed_ with knowledge, "With your Uzumaki _Kekkei Genkai,_ it's just as possible for my soul to have been trapped and sucked into your chains…" Kushina continued on, unperturbed by Naruto's growing confused expression, "But the soul would've had to been close...extremely close. Not more than a couple feet away from your body when you activated your chakra chains…"

Naruto's head was spinning; trapping and sealing souls? What was he? A shinigami? The blonde haired boy scoffed; he was a _ninja_ , so much more badass than those black dress wearing posers.

Fortunately for Naruto, his brain understood and locked onto _one_ part of her dialogue and he interrupted, " _Kekkei Genkai?_ Special abilities? Are you talking about my Chakra Chains? If so: can you please explain this to me so that your explanation can start making sense."

Kushina rubbed the back of her head bashfully; she completely forgot about the blonde haired boy as she went through idea after idea.

Whoops.

"Sorry about that, dattebane!" Kushina apologized, sticking out the tip of her tongue, she closed one of her eyes and continued, "I get really excited sometimes...Hehehe."

Naruto watched her carefully and, suddenly, he just couldn't stop himself. He just wanted to say it. And he did.

Breaking out into a happy grin, he spoke, "You know what. I like you."

This had the red haired beauty break out into an explosion of red, coloring her cheeks so strongly he feared that the rest of her body lacked the precious gift of oxygen, easily matching, perhaps even surpassing, the color gained from his 'Marriage Proposal' a few minutes ago, "M-M-Master! T-That's so sudden!" She placed her hands on her cheeks and squirmed around bashfully, "I couldn't possibly! With a mere slave like me!"

Naruto simply raised an eyebrow, "Seriously...Again?"

Did the world live to gain chuckles from the ridiculous situations he was placed in?

She squealed like a love-struck girl as she sent glances to the deadpanned face of Naruto, "B-B-But if this is what Master wishes for...Even if I've just met M-Master."

She turned to him shyly and opened her mouth, only to be interrupted by the focus of her thoughts raising a hand in order for her to stop.

Naruto deadpanned, "Whatever you're thinking of saying: Don't say it."

They stayed in silence for a few moments and his expression suddenly brightened as he bursted out into laughter, "Y-You…" Naruto struggled to breath as his laughter echoed across the space he resided in, ignoring the ever growing red on Kushina's face. He was a giggling mess as his forehead hit the floor so he wouldn't topple over, "R-Really though, you're too much!"

Needless to say, Kushina didn't like that he was laughing.

 _Flick._

This flick wasn't nearly as forgiving as the first; this time, Naruto was sent flying across the golden field, bouncing off the space like a stone flicked across a lake, but even as Naruto rolled to a stop, he was still laughing.

She was just too much.

He managed to stifle his chuckle to gaze at Kushina with warmth glowing in his eyes. In return, she huffed; puffing out her cheeks in annoyance, she looked to the side and grumbled, "Laughing at a maiden's confessions - even if forced by her Master...How rude."

Naruto's response was immediate, "So you _do_ have a side other than your master fetish. Cute."

Her cheeks flushed red at the compliment.

He made his way over to Kushina, surprised that he couldn't feel any pain from the flick that literally sent him flying.

Naruto shuddered; she was kind of scary.

He sat down in front of her before speaking again, an easy going smile on his face, "By the way: I didn't mean I _liked_ you in that way." He smiled at her warmly; his gentle, heartwarming smile that would turn _any_ girl - regardless of their age - into a blushing mess. He looked straight into her eyes, ignoring the sudden eruption of red in her cheeks, "I meant as a person! You have an amazing personality...Even if you _are_ a bit perverted."

"I am no-"

She was interrupted by a shy, hopeful, smile as he scratched his cheek nervously, "...You want to be...Friends?"

Years of rejection hit him hard in that moment, over and over again; he's never had a friend. He was always told he _couldn't_ have a friend, that a demon like himself couldn't have such a concept - similar to that of a family.

It was a luxury that he could never touch and he slowly stopped trying.

But for one last time, he reached out to grab it, to reach out for the back that was within sight.

And his hope was rewarded by being shoved into two large mounds of softness - courtesy of the beautiful redhead sitting in front of him.

For reasons Kushina couldn't explain, she was crying - something she didn't want Naruto to see - hiding it from the boy as she shoved him deeper into her chest. It was unexplainable, but those feelings that erupted inside of her was unavoidable.

"I'd want nothing more."

Kushina _thought_ she was created yesterday, but these feelings - emotions addressed to the memories that were unknowingly passing through Naruto's mind - erupted inside of her.

Maybe, just _maybe_ , the thought of a soul being sealed into Naruto's chains were feasible for no other reason than those emotions directed at the boy who was in desperate need of affection - both mentally and physically, motherly and womanly.

Kushina couldn't explain her thoughts, her actions, but she wanted nothing more than to keep this blonde haired boy by her side for the rest of her existence.

Of course, this emotional moment was ruined immediately by the red haired beauty upon realising their position. Kushina dried her tears and spoke cheerfully, "Sorry, Master. That was an insolent action taken by your slave." A melodious laugh with a slightly darker undertone came out of her throat, "Please punish your insolent slave."

Her response was in the form of words being sprouted out from her bosom; unfortunately for Naruto, he was too close to her skin for her words to make any sense, "Ghks bee fphsj hfjdk djdjfj! (Get the fuck off of me)!"

Kushina giggled as the words vibrated across her chest, "Master! That tickles."

His body went silent.

"Master?"

She lifted him from her bosom and gasped at his unconscious eyes, "I've killed master!" Shaking his shoulders again and again, Kushina yelled in a hilarious fashion, "I'm sorry! Wake up! Wake up! I won't do it again!"

Her classes against seduction went too far.

R.I.P.

Naruto Uzumaki

Pimp Master

Death caused by suffocation of breasts.

 **[A.N. In all honesty, if this was a gag fanfiction, I'd probably end it like that. Unfortunately, I have this entire plot to go through that will take a shit load of chapters - so, unfortunately, I can't.]**

A few moments later found an extremely annoyed Naruto sitting in front of an thoroughly embarrassed Kushina as he - a child at least eight years her junior - began to chew her out like a parent yelling at their child.

Kushina couldn't help but smile slightly; she just couldn't help but find that it was supposed to be the other way around, but, nonetheless, she let the blonde haired Jinchuuriki teach her a lesson.

It wasn't her fault that he looked _so_ cute when he was trying to play grown up. Puffing out his cheeks, Naruto turned his head in annoyance, muttering, "You're not even listening to me…"

"D'aweeee! Who's a cute lil' boy! Who wants my attention? You do! You do, dattebane!" Kushina chirped with a playful smile on her face as she patted Naruto's head like a dog.

Naruto's lip twisted into a dark smirk and he spoke a single word, "Dattebane?"

He finally heard it.

Kushina froze.

Naruto sighed melodramatically, "You thought I didn't hear that slip of the tongue…" His smirk turned predator-like as he continued, "Unfortunately for you, I did."

Kushina didn't make a sound; that was a word tick she was immensely embarrassed about. She didn't know why and she didn't know how, but she _knew_ it was developed in someway...Maybe the theory of a soul being sealed in his chains wasn't so farfetched afterall. Her violet eyes locked onto Naruto's face, hoping beyond hope that he wouldn't comment on it, and as the second's passed by, it seemed like he wasn't.

She almost sighed in relief; unfortunately…

Naruto turned his face to the side and muttered with a sly smile, "How embarrassing; I'm reluctant to even comment on it."

"Kyaaaah!"

Her face became a tomato.

Naruto mimicked her response with a raised eyebrow, "Kyaaah? Are you five?"

Naruto was pretty sure her limbs were going to collapse from the lack of blood flowing through her body; it seemed to be concentrated on her face.

"Shut up!"

"It seems I really am the grown-up in this conversation, dattebayo!" Naruto said with a smile, ignoring Kushina's gaping look as he said his own word tick. He simply blinked in response before speaking, "What? I'm proud of my word tick! You should be too." Naruto added as an afterthought, "It's cute."

It took an entire minute for Kushina to will her blush down, her thoughts embarrassing her further, " _This is ridiculous! A full grown woman blushing at a kid's remarks…"_

Something clicked with her at that moment; fortunately ( _or unfortunately depending on the reader_ ), it wasn't anything that would shine light on this slightly immoral situation.

" _This is a two player game after all."_

Naruto's words echoed through her mind causing Kushina to smirk mentally. It certainly is a two player game…

Kushina blinked before looking down at her body, "Hey, Master?"

"Just call me Naruto."

"Master," Ignoring his groan, she continued with an impish smirk, "If you actually _did_ create me, you know what means right?"

Naruto blinked in confusion; there was something in the way she spoke that made him _really_ not want to ask her to clarify what she meant, but he picked up his balls and asked, "What?"

"I mean my appearance would be built from your tastes since you created me." Kushina wagged a finger in front of her, "Such a bad boy. Interested in mature women."

Naruto didn't know how to feel about this back-and-forth conversation they were having; on one hand: it was funny when he made her blush, but on the other hand, it wasn't _as_ funny when he was the one being teased and made blush, but throughout their back in forth, one thing stayed constant - the fond smile on each other's faces.

Hours passed by of chipper conversations, taking shots at each other to see who could get the greater reaction out of the other - it became a game of chess to decide who was the better prankster of the two. Who could pluck the other strings to create a ripple with amusing effects.

It was a game that they enjoyed, but, in the end, there thoughts returned to their original topic - way back in their past conversation.

"So...You mentioned my _Kekkei Genkai_ at some point." Naruto commented, steering their reigns to their original conversation to gain control of the situation, "What exactly is that...Actually, scratch that. How do you even know about it?"

A simple shrug was his answer, "I don't really know how to explain it; I have no memories of my past life which is why I think you _did_ create me - since it does fit with the abilities of your _Kekkei Genkai -_ but, nonetheless, the reason _why_ I know is right up here." Kushina tapped her temple, signifying that it was all up in her brain, "I don't have any memories, but I _do_ have a hell of a lot of knowledge...Which is weird since if you, yourself, didn't know the answers to your questions then why should I?"

Muttering to herself, she continued, attempting to solve the puzzle that was herself, "Perhaps...That is also a part of your power. In all honesty, the theory of a soul being binded to your chains is feasible as well. It would explain my knowledge and it would be a possible theory with your special ability, but I don't know enough about souls to make a possible theory. If I am a soul, that mean I died at sometime, but do souls lose their memories once the human body dies? If so, then why do I still have all this knowledge? Both memories and information are stored in the same part of the brain, but perhaps the soul is different? Not to mention I would also have to be within a couple feet of you to have been binded to you and there's no way you would've _not_ known if a babe like me was right next to you." Twitch, "There are too many questions with no answers, but…"

Slowly, her words became more advanced, more complicated, until Naruto's eyes began to glaze over as Kushina went over knowledge he couldn't even understand; numbers, principals, rules of the world, the spiritual and physical boundaries and the manipulation of them, formulas and seals from _Fuinjutsu_ that passed straight over his head until he was brought to a single conclusion.

" _Kushina...As childish and playful as she is, she's really smart as well. REALLY smart and that isn't because I'm dumb or anything. Sure, I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, but I can more or less understand what my classes are about."_ Tuning in on her dark mutters, Naruto shook his head in awe, " _Fuinjutsu is supposed to be the most complicated art of all and she's going over theory and fact and formulas that I can't even dream to understand! Hell, I doubt even the old man could understand her words…"_

She was amazing.

Unfortunately, Naruto had to snap her out of her thoughts or else be lost in the array of words, "You're losing me again…"

Shaking her head, she offered him an apologetic grin before continuing, "Anyways, I don't know _why_ I have this knowledge, but it's all in my head. Moving on," She shot him an excited smile, "I'm sure this is what you _really_ want to know anyways: your _Kekkei Genkai._ "

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Guilty."

Kushina took a deep breath before continuing, entering teacher mode, "You've heard this from the Hokage already, but a select few of the Uzumaki Clan were born with extremely dense chakra. While everyone of the Uzumaki blood had naturally dense chakra that made their Ninjutsu that much more potent - turning a low ranking jutsu into something that could be considered a high ranking technique with the _same_ amount of chakra - there were a few of the Uzumaki Clan that were born with an even more dense, more _special_ chakra. A chakra that was able to create corporeal constructs; more specifically, they were able to form _chains._ "

Taking a breaths and smiling at Naruto's entranced eyes, she continued, "But I said _special_ before didn't I? And I also mentioned that your _special ability_ might've been the reason as to my creation, didn't I? That's because those chains that a special few were able to create granted them special abilities. Every Uzumaki's chains were different from the other, each possessing a unique special ability with their chains, but there's no point in going over _their_ abilities."

Kushina's eyes glinted sadly for a reason unknown to her, but she shook her head to rid herself of those feelings and continued, her eyes gleaming with excitement and curiosity, "Your ability - to me - is special even compared to the other Uzumaki's abilities."

Naruto's eye brightened at that.

"Not in its strength - no, there were many other chains that surpassed your chains strength."

And immediately fell after that.

"No, your ability is unique and powerful in the wide range of possibilities it offers you." Kushina whispered, interest dancing in her eyes as she, herself, tried to imagine the possibilities of the chains before her.

Naruto eyes lit up eagerly, leaning closer to Kushina until there were only a few inches in-between them as he whispered softly, "Ne...What's my special ability?"

Kushina grinned at him before whispering, "The chains of _Yin and Yang."_

Naruto's eyes widened...Before dropping immediately and deadpanning, "Never heard of it." Narrowing his eyes, "Well, I've seen a jutsu of _Yin Release,_ but I've never heard of it before."

Kushina sighed before dropping a hand on the blonde's hair and ruffling it - much to his displeasure, he couldn't stop himself from leaning into her touch, "That's what I'm here for, _Master_! Summon your chains for me, please!"

Naruto immediately granted her request and willed the chains from his body; watched as her entranced violet eyes followed the alluring movements of his two colored dragons.

Kushina pointed at the black shrouded chain, "That is the _Yang Chain,"_ Pointing at the white chakra chain, she continued, "That is the _Yin Chain._ Together they create the _Yin-Yang Chakra Chains._ You probably don't know this, but alongside of _Yin Release_ and _Yang release,_ there's an ability called _Yin-Yang Release_ \- a release that allows you to create whatever you wish, something you've been unknowingly dabbling with due to these chains. I'm sure you can recall one such moment…"

Naruto eyes widened as he recalled the ball of light that rested on his hands when he was training just before…

"That means…" Naruto spoke, his cerulean eyes finding violet as he wanted to make sure.

"Mhmm. That ball of light was created due to your ability to manipulate both _Yin and Yang._ Pretty cool, neh?"

A wordless whisper was her response, "Awesome."

Realization struck Naruto's eyes as he glanced at Kushina, something that the red haired noticed and smiled gently at the child, "I don't know if you've heard this story before…"

Immediately, Naruto sat down before her, his chains wagging behind him like the tails of an excited dog. She willed down a giggle before continuing, "In the beginning, before the age of ninja, there used to be a man called the _Sage of Six Paths_. The most powerful being in the entire world, easily surpassing the legends of our time. It was an age of war, easily make our _Shinobi Wars_ look like children's squabbles, but he managed to create peace with his power! Capable of defeating armies, he managed to bring along a peaceful age..."

Naruto listened in awe, his chains wagging sedately behind him as he listened to the story, "Soon afterwards, he fought a battle against a magnificent beast - a creature so mighty that it was able to destroy _countries_ with its techniques!"

Kushina noted that Naruto was an extremely good listener; nodding her head mentally, she made sure to make a note to tell him as many stories as possible.

He was just so _adorable_ with those big blue eyes taking in her every word and action. She giggled mentally, " _I could get addicted._ "

"The _Sage of Six Paths_ fought this mighty creature, meeting it blow to blow, and managed to defeat it! But he didn't destroy it, instead he decided to create life from all the destruction that it caused. Wielding the legendary release of _Yin-Yang_ \- a power that only he, and now you, possessed - he created Nine Life Forms from the chakra of the beast. Souls were formed and bodies were created from the chakra and he gave birth to life - each a unique spirit." Kushina finished her story by smiling gently at Naruto, " _That_ is the reason why I said it was a possibility that you created me now that you wield a power that only the _Sage of Six Paths_ wielded before. If this is true - which I believe it is - I'm the personality of your Chakra Chains - your _Kekkei Genkai_ personified. The only other theory is that I'm a soul that was binded to your chains, but that's too unrealistic not to mention an impossibility." She smiled, "You created me, Master."

Almost immediately, Naruto shook his head in denial, his words calm in nature, "I don't think I created you."

Kushina tilted her head in confusion, "Why do you say that."

Naruto dropped onto his back and stared at the golden colored sky above him, feeling an illusionary breeze embrace him before continuing sedately, "I don't think I could ever create someone like you." Kushina was about to huff in annoyance; like what the hell? Was she not good enough for him? Her hair began to wave eerily, but she never got the chance to say or do anything when Naruto finished his sentence, "Someone so perfect. It has to be Kami's work. Human life is too precious for someone like me to create..."

His words were innocent, honest, filled with conviction like he was speaking the absolutely truth, something that made Kushina's blush 100x worse as he didn't even seem aware of what he just said and what kind of effect it had on her.

Dropping on the ground next to him, she turned his head away from him, "...Baka."

Naruto could only stare at the form next to him in bewilderment only to have his eyes widen in shock when she suddenly spun around; violet meeting cerulean mere _centimeters_ away from each other.

She smiled at him, Naruto not even realising how his heart started racing miles a minute, making sure to lock in on her voice and nothing else, "I have such a kind Master."

Naruto groaned before glaring at the stubborn girl, "I didn't create you! That means I'm not your Master! Just call me Naruto."

Kushina shook her head stubbornly, "No! Master is Master is Master!"

Naruto facepalmed before chuckling slightly, "Really...I don't know what I was expecting."

Kushina grinned in response before turning to the _Yang Chain_ that hovered above them _,_ deciding to give her Master a break, "Would you like to know about your abilities?"

Naruto rose an eyebrow in amusement, "Do you need me to answer that question?"

Kushina rolled her eyes and smiled, "I guess not." Pointing at the black shrouded chain hanging in the air, she spoke, "I'm sure you already have the jist of their abilities down, but allow me to confirm your thoughts. The _Yang Chain_ has two main abilities: Firstly, it is capable of piercing through anything and everything, it doesn't matter what the defense is - whether it's spiritual or physical - everything will crumble from its attack making it both a impregnable defense and unstoppable offense."

Naruto's eyes widened at that as he spoke in bewilderment, "It's that powerful? I mean I knew it was something to be reckoned with after it went through Mizuki-teme like water, but I didn't realize it was _that_ powerful."

Kushina nodded, "Mhmm. It's a strange chain that's for sure, but it has to do more with the shroud of chakra covering over it - I'm considering it _Yang Chakra_ at the moment, but I could be wrong…" Shaking her head before she could be dragged down into more technical thoughts, she spoke again, "Relating to that it's also capable of creating barriers and channeling your own chakra through it for other usages - I guess you could consider barriers as a sub skill. Moving on to it's second ability: it possesses the power to restrain and seal the chakra of anything it touches."

The image of Mizuki-teme flashed through his mind as he remembered his words.

" _My chakra! What did you do with my chakra! Where did you hide it! Where did you put it! GIVE IT BACK!"_

Naruto murmured to himself, "It certainly explains why Mizuki went crazy. Not being able to access or feel your chakra after having it for your whole life - especially when you're told you'd be dead without chakra - I can see why he went through such sudden strong withdrawal symptoms…"

Kushina nodded beside him, "It's definitely the more fearsome of the two abilities. Not just anyone could handle the sudden change of not feeling their chakra anymore not to mention the unbreakable bonds they would be in if captured. It's a fearsome combination."

Naruto nodded in agreement, he could see the effects of his chain first hand against an enemy. It certainly didn't disappoint.

Kushina continues, "The _Chain of Yin_ compliments the _Chain of Yang_ most impressively. I'm sure you already made use of it, but the _Yin Chain_ is capable of draining the chakra and life force of anything it touches - sending all of it back to you, to gain back your chakra levels and heal your wounds. It makes a great combination with the _Yang Chain_ , once an enemy is restrained, you absorb all of his chakra - Your enemy won't even know it either due to his chakra already being locked away. It's the perfect capture ability, not to mention the usages of it in a fight."

Kushina continued after taking a breath, "If left in an enemy for too long, it can be lethal. It'll start sucking out the life force of everything it touches, shriveling up your enemies until they turn into dust. It has the same effect on inanimate objects since _everything_ has chakra. Like the _Yang Chain_ it also has a second ability or more around the case of a passive ability. It's intangible, allowing it to pass through everyone and everything without stop making it just as lethal as the indestructible _Yang Chan._ I guess you could consider its ability to bring you into your personal dimension a third ability… _"_ Seeing the questioning look the blonde shot at her, she smiled, "I'll tell you later."

Kushina looked into the boy's cerulean blue eyes, "And it's greatest ability is the usage of the _Yin-Yang Release_ , but I can't tell you any more about that since I, myself, know nothing about it besides what I read before: it gives you the ability of creation."

Naruto's eyes widened at the same time Kushina's did, whispering, "What you read before…"

"What I read before…"

"See...I told you I didn't create you; it seems you have to stop calling me Maste-"

He couldn't get any more words out.

They had no time to ponder on thoughts around Kushina's identity as Naruto's vision suddenly got blurry and his limbs suddenly lost all of its strength. His body began to fall towards the ground, but, thankfully, he was caught in the gentle embrace of Kushina's hug.

Her breath tickled his ear as she spoke, "You alright?"

His cheek pressed against her breast, he couldn't resist the urge to blush and responded in a dry tone, "Dandy."

Feeling strength return to his body, he pushed himself out of the redhead's embrace, sending her a grateful smile before carefully standing on his feet.

He sent her a questioning glance, "Do you have any idea what that was about, Kushina-chan?"

"I'd assume your chakra is running out, Master...You are currently using chakra to stay in your personal dimension - the dimension of your _Yin-Yang Chains_ and where I'm currently residing." Kushina answered, her violet eyes meeting his curious cerulean blue eyes, "Remember how I said that your _Yin Chain_ is capable of sending you to your personal dimension? That's where you are now."

"I see." Naruto mumbled to himself before questioning her again, "How...Exactly did I get in here again."

"You looked into your _Yin Chain's_ eyes; I guess you subconsciously asked to be pulled into this world." Kushina answered as she pondered the question herself, but that was the only way she could make sense of his being here. Before he could ask another question, he was silenced by her worried eyes, "While I'd love to talk to you more, Master, it'd be dangerous for your health if you stay here any longer."

Naruto moved closer to Kushina and sent her a warm grin, "I guess you're right…" He scratched his cheek nervously before asking, "We can talk more right…"

Kushina sent him a matching grin, "Of course!" A playful gleam entered her eyes, causing Naruto to take a step backwards, "Master!" Kushina moaned in feigned innocence as she spread out her arms, "No hug goodbye for your loyal slave?"

Naruto twitched, "I'm leaving." He walked aimlessly, ignoring his slave's - damn it, Naruto can't believe he just thought that - cries for a hug for a few moments before realising that he was in an endless golden space with no exit. He immediately came to a halt. He turned hesitatingly towards Kushina, "How...Do I get out?"

She pounced.

 **XxMaelstormxX**

And that is how Naruto woke up from his dream, standing in the very same position he was originally in at the same time he departed even though it's been more than hours!

Naruto groaned into his hands; seriously, what was going on with his life?

Smothered to death by breasts.

...There were worst ways to go.

 **XxMaelstormxX**

 **And that brings an end to the second chapter of Maelstrom. Thanks for all the reviews by the way! It seems like a nice start anyways!**

 **I'm sure most of you want answers for Kushina's personality - if you haven't figured it out already - so I'll tell you. Kushina 'lost' her memories, but is left with the feelings and knowledge that she had before she died. Extremely strong feelings for Naruto and the will to protect, teach, and help him in every single way. Alongside with the thought that she was created by him makes her personality a bit warped compared to her original personality. How? Why? When? You'll have to read to find out since I can't say anymore without spoiling the story for you.**

 **Anyways, how'd you like it?**

 **Make sure to review, follow, and favorite! Let's try to break through twenty reviews this week! If we break through thirty, I'll post the next chapter a week from today. If we hit fifty reviews, I'll post it tomorrow (I very much doubt that this will happen, but, hey, a guy can hope.)**

 **See you next time!**


	3. Chapter 3: Starting Line

**Maelstrom**

 _ **Chapter Three**_

 _Starting Line_

Naruto couldn't lie; he felt _really_ weird.

Waking up when he was already _conscious_ felt awfully strange to him; unnatural even. It was like when you're in a dream and you wake up in a different dream; it's disorientating since you feel like it's your reality only to wake once more and find that it was an illusion as well.

To sum it up: it felt like he was being trolled.

The blonde Jinchuuriki threw those thoughts away; opening his cerulean colored eyes, he started to stretch as if he'd been sleeping for ages, but, in truth, no time had passed at all while he was in that golden wonderland.

 _That_ is the reason why he was so surprised when his body wasn't stiff at all even when it was clear that he'd spent _hours_ within that personal dimension - as Kushina called it.

"What the hell?"

Naruto sweat dropped at the very familiar sentence; he's been saying that _way_ too much these past two days. Letting out a resigned sigh, he moaned, "Troublesome." Eyes widening in mock horror, he groaned before continuing, "I'm starting to sound like Shikamaru. Please spare me!"

Shaking his head in amusement, he took a look around at his surroundings. Everything was in the same way he had left it at; it was still evening even though it _should've_ been in the middle of the night and his chakra chains were still out, slithering around him as if he was just about to test them.

Naruto rubbed his chin in thought, "Let me get this straight: even though I was clearly in that other dimension for _hours,_ no time passed here? That's kind of...Trippy."

Bouncing on his toes, he found that he was also in a strangely perfect condition with his chakra levels untouched, but he was clearly told that his chakra was about to run out in that other dimension. Why did he return to his original state from before he went into that other world?

Naruto stuck out his tongue and shrugged; he wasn't in a thinking mood right now, but he knew who he could ask.

An image popped up in his mind; first beautiful crimson hair attached to a face that could be called perfection, itself. Piercing violet eyes, gentle in its composition, stared at him before his eyes were drawn down to her stunning figure with a smooth complexion to match - something any girl would kill to have.

A smile made its way to his lips and he spoke, "Kushina! You there?"

Naruto expected to hear her playful voice respond to him or even hear a teasing jab aimed at him, but he heard none of that; instead, the sound of silence responded to him.

Just seconds ago - seconds in this dimension, not the dimension of his chakra chains - Naruto found the silence as peaceful, relaxing his entire body within its quiet beauty.

Now, the silence was scary.

"Kushina?" Naruto called again; taking on a more questioning tone compared to the chipper tone of his first exclamation.

Similar to the first call, he was met with silence.

Narrowing his eyes, Naruto couldn't help but have his thoughts drift from him, taking it to places and thoughts that he'd really rather _not_ think about; however, as much as he wanted to push it down, he couldn't keep his subconscious from spreading its poison.

" _What if it was just a hallucination."_

Like a fire, those poisoned thoughts grew as if it hit by a strong wind.

" _Doesn't it make sense?"_

Naruto's eyes dimmed, losing the luster that he had when he first called for Kushina's name. Could it be true? His first friend, an illusion created from his lonely mind?

" _You've been alone all these years; it's not a surprise that your subconscious might've made this up to lessen the pain in you."_

Naruto didn't want to believe it, he _couldn't_ believe it, but his subconscious continued to spread its poison. He couldn't help but agree with his darker thoughts;

" _I mean it makes sense doesn't it?_ _If it was just an illusion; it would explain why you aren't exhausted in any way, why no time at all had passed in the true reality."_

It was because it was an illusion, thought up by his mind and twisted to match his deepest wishes. Naruto twitched at the dark whispers of his subconscious; it spoke the truth. Even if he didn't like those thoughts, it _would_ make sense if that _was_ the case and whenever his darker thoughts spoke up, it was usually right.

Unfortunately for his darker subconscious, Naruto wasn't so easy to sway.

Instead, he grinned.

"Bullshit. It doesn't matter if it was an illusion or reality; Kushina was real to me and is _still_ my first and precious friend." Naruto confirmed; banishing all of his dark thoughts - which was strange in the first place. Since when did he have thoughts like these?

Naruto sighed; it always popped up whenever there was a chance to doubt himself, to lose himself to his darker thoughts. It's almost as if it wanted to make him a brooder like Sasuke.

His lips twisted upwards as an amused thought struck him; who knows, maybe he had some evil persona in his body called _Yami Naruto_ who possessed all of his hatred?

Naruto chuckled; _Ha, this isn't a manga. Things like that don't happen in reality..._

Naruto shuddered; he suddenly felt like he jinxed himself. It was coincidental, he assured himself, there was no way he had an actual _Yami Naruto_ inside of him, if he did, he'd stop eating ramen for an entire _week._

Naruto shuddered again; suddenly, he didn't like the odds with the bet he placed against himself. Shrugging his shoulders, he dismissed those thoughts, deciding to focus on training instead. He began to stretch and loosen up his muscles, preparing himself for his training session.

He promised to become the best ninja.

Naruto didn't plan on becoming a liar.

 **[If only he knew what that entailed for the future, maybe he wouldn't be so keen on making such an exclamation.]**

"Okay!" The blonde haired Jinchuuriki chirped as he bounced on the tips of his toes and threw out some jabs like a boxer, "I have three weeks until I become an official genin! That means three weeks of rigorous, hardcore training! I got this! If I train every day for the next three weeks, I'll be better than Sasuke for sure!"

" _You're not a ninja."_

Naruto jerked to a stop as he recalled Mizuki's words.

" _You're a child playing Ninja."_

Naruto inhaled deeply, calming his roaring blood at the unfortunately true words. He couldn't deny those words, in that battle he was nothing more than a child who got lucky. If he didn't use his chains at that moment, Iruka would've been severely hurt and Naruto, himself, could've died.

Hiruzen was next.

" _Do you really think you can become Hokage at this level?"_

No.

No; he didn't believe he could become Hokage at his current level. Naruto was weak, his growth purposely stunted in order for him to give up on life as a ninja, but he wasn't going to call it quits.

It wasn't going to be easy, but-

" _Hey you said it yourself, right? You're a terrible ninja-"_

Naruto's vein popped; here were Kushina's words of wisdom...as terribly insulting as it may seem.

" _But you have time to improve. Sure, it's not going to happen overnight, but you can get stronger."_

He could _see_ the grin on her face as he recalled her next words.

" _That's why I'm here, Master!"_

A grin slipping on his face, Naruto cracked his neck, "Well...That's that. I _may_ be weak now! But not for long! It's training time…" His confident smirk wavered, "What…Exactly should I train?"

Pondering the question he posed to himself, Naruto spoke out loud, "Well...My Taijutsu is inexistent, the old man said it himself. The only reason I win my spars is due to my speed - I'm not able to outrun ANBUs for nothing - and resilience, but I always get…" Naruto groaned; he had to say it, "C-C-Crushed by...Sasuke."

Naruto pretended to throw up; yes, Naruto was the kind of person who would do something like that even when there was no one watching him.

What a guy.

"He's skilled at Taijutsu and he's fast as well…" Naruto looked into the sky, watching as the clouds slowly flowed through the air, "On the other hand...I'm a brawler. I rely on my instincts with no skills once-so-ever…"

Naruto frowned; the truth hurts, especially when you, yourself, admitted it.

He sighed, "Taijutsu isn't something that can be learned in a couple weeks. Everyone has like four years on me, there's no way to make up for that. Sure, I have the body definition filled out - hell, my body is better than most Ninja - but skill isn't something you learn in a short amount of time."

Blowing out of his lips, Naruto continued, "So Taijutsu won't be the focus for these three weeks since I have neither a sensei nor scrolls to study from…"

A thought struck him and a victorious grin appeared on his face as he snapped his fingers, "That's it! The Genin Library! It has to have Taijutsu scrolls in there somewhere!"

Crossing his fingers, he made a familiar hand seal and whispered, " **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!** "

A puff of smoke appeared next to him which quickly dispersed in the wind, revealing his twin; they traded matching smirks and spoke, "Hey there you handsome devil."

"Right back at you, sexy~."

They chuckled before the creator took on a more serious persona and spoke, "Anyways, you know what to do. Get to it!"

"Hai. Hai...Lazy ass." The clone muttered to himself before taking off.

The creator didn't think kindly of his clone's choice of words, but the master was forgiving…Meaning he withheld from throwing the kunai clenched in his hand at the departing back of his clone.

"What a dick." Naruto said after a bit; not realising that he was insulting himself alongside with his clone.

Shaking his head, he moved on, "Next is Genjutsu...which is a hopeless case for me. I have absolutely no chakra control with my massive reserves so there's absolutely no hope in that area." Counting off with his fingers, he grinned, "And that just leaves Ninjutsu until my clone comes back with the book."

Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Naruto continued, "It's definitely the best area to actually improve in within the span of three weeks. I can learn how to use my Chakra Chains alongside of my Chakra Constructions, Yin-Yang Release, _and_ figure out that _Yin Release_ Jutsu, and get better at the academy three! Maybe even some chakra control exercises! I can always ask Iruka-sensei for help!"

And, with that, he got to work.

An excited grin grew on his lips, "What to do? What to do? I've never actually _used_ my Chakra Chains since yesterday, but I also have my Chakra Constructs - I guess _Yin-Yang Release_ would be the correct title. I have so many ideas I want to try out!"

Naruto frowned in thought, "Damn it! I thought I was done thinking." Throwing his hands up in the air, he exclaimed, "I'll just practice them all!"

He breathed in deeply before exhaling, calming his racing heart and excited chakra before opening them again; a calm storm of blue were all that were found in his cerulean orbs. The blonde haired Jinchuuriki watched, entranced, as he moved his eyes towards his clenched his fists and concentrated his chakra.

Subconsciously - meaning that he didn't know how he actually did it, but, nonetheless, it worked, but who knows for how long...

He let out a slight gasp as his hands suddenly caught fire, his right and left fists being enveloped by a black and white shroud of chakra, respectfully. He faced his palms upwards toward the sky and willed his dragons to come out and out they came.

They bloomed like a flower, flowing from him hand and into the air, revolving around him and caressing his sky like the warm touch of a lover.

"So...I can create my _Chakra Chains_ from my hands, one of each type…" Naruto hummed to himself, "I have to think up a name for these chains later so I can differentiate them with something besides their color."

Shaking his head, Naruto continued, "I wonder if I have to have both of them out at the same time?" Tilting his head curiously, he willed his _Yin_ chain to flow back into him, leaving a single black shrouded chain flowing around him.

Smiling at his small discovery, he stated, "So they don't _both_ have to be out at the same time." Naruto grinned; it was time to find out every little thing about his chains, it was bound to be interesting. "I wonder if I can create more than one of the same type of Chakra Chain - like two _Yang_ chains for example."

He turned to his left hand and willed his hand to turn black...Unfortunately for Naruto, nothing happened. Not a slight raise of chakra or even a shroud of energy enveloping his hand.

He didn't feel anything at all.

Raising an eyebrow, he tried to call his Yin Chain forward...Nothing happened.

Naruto frowned; what the hell? Just minutes ago he could do it fine, but now it's being all bitchy? What was different from what he did before and what he's doing now? Narrowing his eyes, Naruto recalled his _Yang_ chain into his body.

Perhaps they had to be called on together?

He tried again; unfortunately, he was met with the same result except this time there weren't any chains flowing out from his hands. Growling, Naruto gripped his left wrist with his right hand and began forcing chakra into his left palm in an effort to bring his chains out; he glared at his hand, waiting for something to happen as he fed it more and more chakra.

And something _did_ happen...It just wasn't the chakra chain.

His palm flickered blue and a soon his hand became enveloped with chakra, but not the white shroud he was looking for; no, this was his chakra construct building ability.

Groaning in annoyance, Naruto inhaled before letting out the breath after regaining his calm, "Might as well play with this for a bit…"

Naruto's eyes began to glow a regal blue as he started embracing that strange chakra he felt ever since he was little, silently enforcing his will on his life energy to bend it to his will; a cold sweat began to drop from his neck because of the strain.

Naruto suddenly felt a brief pang of regret; why didn't he practice _this_ over the couple of years during the academy when no one was there to help him? Why didn't he realize before hand the potential this ability had; instead, he used it for such rudimentary purposes - like constructing a light to find his way to the bathroom when he was a child.

Naruto sighed.

There was only _one_ time that he managed to use his ability in an offensive purpose and he did that on accident, but, even so, he was capable of doing it without too much trouble. This was before he was entered into the academy, when he was just a kid dreaming for the stars.

He accidentally ended up in a training field when he was running away from the pursuers of his most recent prank. Naruto found himself in a bush, watching as two Shinobi battled.

He was awed.

They moved around so gracefully, dancing around one another, trying to find an opening within their opponent; it was like a game of chess, but with the grace of a dance. He watched under the light of the moon as the Kunoichi drew her blade - nothing more than a blinding flash of light that reflected the light of the stars - and then it was over.

Naruto snuck into that training area and simply gazed at the destruction that was caused by that beautiful dance; inspired, he tried to recreate one of the moves displayed there with his chakra.

And he did.

This was the very same move he was trying to use today; an attack he completely forgot about during his time as an academy student. Unfortunately, the results of his neglect showed here today.

Sweat slid down from his neck as he forcefully manipulated his chakra in ways that Shinobi couldn't do; it was an ability unique to him, but he was too silly to see the potential until it was pointed out to him. Shaking his head, Naruto bit his lip in effort; before, he was capable of forming his attack within seconds; now, it's been a couple minutes and he's _still_ trying to shift his chakra in order to prepare for the move.

He really should've practiced this more, this was his reoccurring thought as he struggled to enforce his will upon his chakra; unfortunately, thoughts like those wouldn't help him get any stronger, so he quickly dismissed them. While he didn't practice with this technique, it didn't mean he wasted his four years at the academy. He did his best to gain the best physical attributes - strength, speed resilience - so he'd never say he wasted his time.

Naruto couldn't tell how much time passed by until he actually managed to bend his chakra to his will, but, judging by the moon hanging in the sky, it took quite some time to finally be able to start the technique.

Naruto inhaled deeply; his mind racing with thoughts.

" _From what I can figure, there are two applications of Yin-Yang Release; although, there's probably a lot more, but this is all I can figure out. There's the first ability of Construction - which is what I'm doing now and what I was able to do as a child - and Realization, something I don't know how to do at a moment, but within time I should be able to do it. Construction; actually, I have to come up with a cooler name for that as well…"_ Naruto shook his head and continued his train of thought, " _Construction is the ability to create objects from Chakra. Such as this…"_

Naruto grinned; he finally got a tight grasp on his chakra! Forcing his chakra to expand outwards, he watched as it slowly became longer and longer until it was a couple feet in length.

It almost looked like a blue plank of wood.

" _Not done yet…"_

Narrowing his eyes in effort, he willed the plank of chakra to become thinner, sharper, weightless and hot as acid.

And it responded to his thoughts.

The chakra began to thin while Naruto started putting his final touches on his construction; closing his eyes in thought, he imagined what he wanted to turn this chakra into. Straining himself, he began to force it to bend to the image he held in his mind.

Suddenly, he stopped and opened his eyes; his construction was finally done. Before his eyes was a glowing blue sword made out of pure chakra; it was rather simple in design, a blade the length of four feet and a guard that jutted out in four directions - appearing like a rather large shuriken.

Bringing his blade to the side of his hip like it was sheathed, he turned towards a tree that laid a couple feet away from him. Naruto blurred from his spot, easily covering the couple feet in between himself and the tree, and swung his sword in a deadly arc, a trail of chakra following his blade.

Naruto whispered, " **Onmyoton: Ama no Murakumo!** _(Yin-Yang Release: Sword of the Gathering Clouds of Heaven)!"_

The tree began to slide vertically, the top half slowly sliding against the bottom until it hit the floor. Naruto glanced at the fallen tree in interest, bringing his hand down to feel the perfect cut; it seems that it burned its way through while it was cutting.

It was a sharp blade created from steaming chakra.

Wiping the sweat from his face with his free hand, Naruto let his blade of chakra disperse into the air, he exclaimed, "That...Was badass!"

Unfortunately, his enthusiasm didn't stand in the way of his view of reality causing him to shake his head in disappointment, "But...It's not good enough to use in a fight. No one's going to give me ten minutes to let me build up my chakra so I can cut them in half."

But he didn't let that keep him down for long, "Fortunately, I have three weeks to make it battle ready! Maybe I'll even be able to create like a barrier or even like a energy beam out of my hands! That would be badass! I can go all Kamehame HAAAA and make people my bitches."

The blonde haired boy grinned, placing his hands behind his head, he spoke again, "So that's another thing to work on alongside of my Chakra Chains…Which I still need to figure out how it even works." Scratching his chin, Naruto narrowed his eyes, "Honestly, I need to figure out everything I have to work on today so I can spend all of the next couple weeks training!"

Counting off his fingers, he muttered to himself, "Taijutsu - check, my clone should be checking out some scrolls from the library right now and then I can start training in that tomorrow; Yin-Yang Release - check, that's all ready to practice; Chakra Chains - not checked, but I should be able to figure it out today!" Rubbing his chin slightly, he snapped his fingers when he remembered, "And, finally, that _Yin Release_ technique, I shou-"

Naruto cut himself off, his eyes widening in realization as an _extremely_ heavy wind hit him, " _Yin Release...Yang Release; they're both exactly like the advanced forms of chakra - Raiton, Doton, Suiton, Katon, and Futon. That means…"_ He glanced down at his hands, his left and right arm both empty of his dragon chains even after all the effort he put into trying to recreate it, " _The reason I wasn't able to produce another Yang chain or Yin chain is because I wasn't changing my chakra into either of those types of chakra! Just like the chakra natures where you have to give your chakra the property of wind to use Futon or the properties of heat to use fire, I have to change my chakra into Yin and Yang to create more chains! I guess I was subconsciously doing it when I created my chains!"_

Naruto's eyes narrowed in thought, " _But if I could subconsciously do it before; why can't I do it now? Is it because I willed my chakra chain back in or is it because my body forgot how it felt…?"_ Scratching his chin, Naruto eyes sharpened, an intelligent gleam shining in his eyes - a look that no one knew Naruto had, " _Subconscious action is never a good way to learn. I'm simply relying on old memories without actually knowing how to change my chakra into what I want; I pretty much have no control over my chains without knowing how to summon them. My body couldn't remember how to summon them because my subconscious couldn't remember how I naturally did it."_

The blonde's eyes gleamed.

"Meaning…" Naruto held out his left and right hand before closing his eyes, concentrating on the task at hand, "If I remember how my chakra felt when I first used my Chakra Chains then I'll be able to create them again. And since I'm _consciously_ trying to bring them out, it'll become something I'll always know how to do - like how to throw a punch or a kick."

Naruto sat on the ground in a meditative stance, a hand on each knee cap with his palms facing the air; he slowly began to inhale and exhale, calming his racing heart and the ripples in his chakra.

He sat there for a few moments, silence reigning in the area until he sweat dropped and exclaimed, "How the fuck am I supposed to summon them if I don't even know what the requiems of summoning _Yin and Yang_ chakra are, damn it!"

So much for training his chakra chains.

Naruto groaned, "I'll have to go to the library again and research it. Unless…"

" _Maybe I can feel it out instead…?"_

Shrugging his shoulders, Naruto closed his eyes once more and did his best to remember how Yin Chakra and Yang Chakra felt like; unfortunately, even if he did succeed, he'd have to learn about Yin Release and Yang Release to use the more advanced forms of Yin-Yang release anyways.

His subconscious told him this, but he told it to screw off.

He wanted his chains now; it was _his_ bloodline and he was going to make it his bitch!

Not to mention it was his only connection to Kushina. Naruto's eyes widened at that additional thought and - with extra inspiration to get it right today - he immediately set out to work, his concentration reaching a new peak.

His breathing synchronized with his heartbeat and eventually all the sounds began to disappear until he was in his own realm of silence, " _Yin and Yang...The feelings I had when they enveloped my hands were that they were complete opposites, but still the same as whole. Kind of like a coin. Sure, it has two different sides, but they were still the same coin."_

Wind brushed past his body, smothering him with soft kisses before departing and leaving silence behind in the training field.

" _Yin...Was a lot darker than yang. Weary. Heavy. It felt...Misty? No, it had more of a presence than the mist, it felt kind of silky and smooth, but the illusionary presence it gave off really goes with the whole misty vibe. Yeah, misty seems good. It gave off a presence that made it want to be feared and was full of hidden power. It was cold as well, but it was so cold it was warm. Kind of similar to the concept of dry ice - so cold that it burns."_

He inhaled.

" _Yang, on the other hand, was a lot brighter than Yin. Alive. Emotional. The complete opposite of Yin. It was pure power and energy, it felt no need to hide its strength! It was warm to the touch as well - not cold in the slightest - and felt more like the presence of light on your skin. Like when the sun shined down on you and you can actually feel the Rays on your skin. It gave off the presence of strength and protection. That's how it felt."_

He exhaled.

" _They're complete opposites, but are one in the same; darkness and light."_

And then he opened his eyes, expecting to see his familiar chains; he didn't see them.

What he saw...Perplexed him.

He didn't see the black and white shrouds of his chakra chains; no, they were of the same color, but they were completely different.

His left hand was covered in a strange black, smokey, substance that was constantly being produced before drifting into the air and dispersing. It was cold to the point that it felt warm, illusionary and terrifying.

" _That's Yin…"_

Turning to look at his right hand, he saw a simple white orb of light surrounding his fist in a bubble; it was warm, alive, _powerful._ Full of energy. It gave off slight ripples in the air almost like the visible heat waves you can see. It bent the air and made it ripple, disrupting its surroundings. That's what the sphere of power was doing.

" _And that's Yang…"_

Before Naruto could do anything - an action or thought - or even exhale, those two strange colors were slowly sucked into his skin causing Naruto to be filled with a protective, powerful, warmth.

It was the same feeling he had when he used his Chakra Chains. Immediately forgetting the strange sight he just saw, he willed his chains forward!

And they didn't disappoint.

They rose from his skin proudly, swaying from side to side and ruffling his form as they slithered past him - they didn't stop there either. More chains came out of his back, out of his legs, both Yin and Yang until there was an army of chains dancing at a tempo only known to Naruto.

His dragon chains were back!

Naruto grinned.

"Fuck yeah!"

So caught up in his exuberance, he didn't even notice the strange tattoos in the form of the sun and moon that reigned on his left and right hand, respectively, develop on his body.

 **XxMaelstromxX**

 _The Next Day_

Naruto groaned; throwing himself deeper into his pillow to block out the noise of his alarm. Unfortunately, the noises didn't disappear even when he blocked his ears with his hands. A single blonde eyebrow began to twitch; no, this wasn't normal in any way. Usually, covering his ears did more than enough to at least _muffle_ the sound of his alarm, but today it sung clearly, ignoring the fundamental flaws it had with physics.

" _Wait…"_ Naruto's brow furrowed, " _Singing?"_

It was a strange feeling.

" _Good Morning, Master."_

Having some voice in your head that is; scratching the side of his head in confusion, he pondered to himself, " _Maybe I'm actually insane."_

But then he realized the owner of that voice.

The sweet voice of Kushina sang out again almost as if she realized he was awake, " _Master? Are you awake?"_ Her innocent tone made his eyebrow twitch; she was acting as if she wasn't the reason he woke up.

Having someone scream master _over and over_ again and act innocent as if she didn't do it...That was Kushina.

Wait.

His chest shot upwards so his back was leaning against his bedpost, an alarmed glint in his eyes as his heart raced dangerously. He could _hear_ Kushina's voice...After an entire day of silence, she finally spoke to him again. She wasn't a figment of his imagination!

" _Master!"_ He heard Kushina whine and the smile became more profound on Naruto's face. Okay, he didn't really care if he was insane or not; Kushina was his friend.

His first friend.

But still…

"Kushina! Where the hell were you?" Naruto exclaimed; his voice rising to pronounce his anger at her sudden disappearance, "I thought I was going insane, dattebayo!"

A melodious giggle filled his head as she spoke again, " _Missing me so much that the thought of going without me was driving you insane."_ She sighed pleasantly, making a vein throb on the side of his head, " _You know just what to say to a woman, Master~"_

"Who the hell said I missed you!" Naruto yelled; crossing his arms across his chest and turning his head to the side in a very _tsundere_ fashion.

" _You're so cute when you act shy."_

Naruto groaned, "Please shut up."

" _...Is that a-"_

Naruto interrupted her immediately, "No, it's not a command!"

She giggled. Naruto sighed.

" _I think I'm becoming a Nara…"_ Naruto thought wearily as he ripped his blankets off his shirtless form.

"Good Morning to you too, by the way!" Naruto greeted cheerily, finally out of his morning funk before smirking - even though he knew she wouldn't see it, "And, yes, I missed my dear Kushi-chan, ever-so-much! I couldn't even sleep without her melodious voice telling me goodnight!"

Naruto couldn't see her, but he just _knew_ she was blushing as she muttered, " _Baka_."

"Who's being shy again?" Naruto thought as he slowly began stretching, glancing at his reflection as he did so.

He wasn't going to lie; for a thirteen year old, he was _ripped_. Hell, he probably had a better figure than a lot of the older Shinobi! It wasn't that he had a bulging mass of muscles; no, it had to do more with his definition. His chiseled abs leaving not an ounce of fat and his defined muscled chest and arms would turn any young girl into a mouth watering mess - Even women would admire and appreciate his figure and yell at their husbands/boyfriends for not having a definition that a child had.

Naruto's figure came from _survival_ and training.

He would throw himself into a forest and stay there for ages, living on animals that he defeated with his bare hands and forming his own living conditions. His strength, agility, and power, strengthened with this and only became greater with his hard work.

Like he said millions of times before, the Academy didn't teach him anything or, more around the lines, of _refusing_ to teach him anything.

Constantly ignored, never helped during class practices, he was slowly left in the dust. With no Taijutsu skills, no apparent talent in Genjutsu or Chakra Control - although you can't really blame him for that, having a chakra capacity of an entire village would be impossible for anyone to take control of - and only being able to learn two of the basic three ninjutsus taught at the academy consisting of the _Henge, Bunshin, and Kawarimi._

Naruto was more of a hands on learner and was never really interested in his studies; although, he was able to pass the major deciding tests relatively well - he didn't want to _fail_ out of the academy afterall. You need to keep above a certain grade average to stay in the academy so his studies were necessary at some point.

Anyways, with no one to help him with his Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Chakra Control, he could only focus on one thing.

Physical prowess.

Strength, speed, power, endurance; Naruto threw himself into all types of physical activities in order to increase his physical body.

Push-ups, weightlifting, sprinting, sit-ups, leg weights and arm weights, all this and more; he dedicated himself to building the perfect body instead of waiting for someone to actually teach him the skills of a Shinobi. He went with the simple thought process that physical strength is one of the most important features of a Ninja and went ahead to further his own abilities - something he didn't need anyone else to teach him.

So while everyone else in the academy were taught the basics of Ninjutsu and Chakra Control, learned the forms of the academy _katas_ , and learned about the world during their four years at the academy, Naruto dedicated all his time into building his strength.

And the results showed in his rippled form.

Naruto was absolutely sure that no one in his class could match him in pure strength, speed, and power. Naruto was 100% positive that he was easily the fastest of his class - even if his classmates used _chakra_ to reinforce their bodies - he didn't run away from Anbu and Shinobi every day _just_ to hide from the punishments resulting from his pranks.

It was also practice...But mostly for fun.

While he was sure he was the strongest in power and strength with basic physical might and chakra reinforcement, Naruto also knew that there were other kids - more specifically, the clan kids - in his class that beat his physical might with their clan's _Ninjutsu._

Kiba and Chouji were prime examples of this.

Naruto knew it wasn't the best usage of his time, but it was the only thing he could do without a sensei to teach him anything. Even though he could beat most kids in Taijutsu spars - even without a Taijutsu style - with his extremely physical body, he always struggled against the kids who had an actual style to fight by.

And he wasn't talking about the basic academy styles; no, he was talking about the classmates who had their own _Taijutsu_ styles passed down to them from their clans and the classmates who were actually talented in the basic academy _Taijutsu._

Yes, this was mostly directed to the clan kids in his class; seriously, what was up with that anyways? Seven clan _heirs_ in his class?

Seriously, what the fuck? Did they plan this or did they just have one giant orgy because there is no way in hell that this is simply _chance!_

Shaking his head, he returned to his previous thoughts. Yes, he struggled in his matches against his classmates who came from the clans of Konohagakure and sometimes against the children who were rather far in the _Academy_ _Taijutsu -_ while the academy's Taijutsu wasn't powerful or fancy in any way, it was a building block for Shinobi who wanted to create their _own_ Taijutsu styles - Of course, he ended up beating all of the non-clan kids anyways.

That isn't to say he won against all of his classmates that originated from clans, though. He groaned mentally, while his Taijutsu matches with Ino and Shikamaru _always_ resulted in his favor, the others were more complicated.

While Ino was a complete fan girl who didn't seem to care about becoming a Ninja, Shikamaru was simply lazy and didn't bother trying during the class spars. That isn't to say he _isn't_ dangerous, the brain behind that bum was absolutely _terrifying_.

Naruto would've added Chouji to the list of people he could defeat during the class spars since the blonde _always_ won, but he wasn't sure who'd win in an actual _Taijutsu_ fight.

Chouji just couldn't bring himself to hurt any of his classmates which is why he always lets himself get beaten during the spars. Naruto wasn't sure about his chances against his big-boned friend since he _did_ come from one of the greatest physically strong clans in the world - the _Akimichi Clan._

They were absolute _monsters_ of strength.

Bringing his mind from those frightening thoughts, he contained his monologue. Kiba and Shino were the next two heirs from the notable clans of the _Inuzuka_ and _Aburame_ , respectfully,

These two took their spars seriously and were a lot harder to face than the others. While Shino was more of a long ranged fighter - befitting his blood as an _Aburame -_ he was no slouch in _Taijutsu_ either. Possessing his clan's _Taijutsu_ made him a tough opponent - even when he wasn't a master of it yet; fortunately for Naruto, he managed to win most of the spars against Shino - mostly due to the latter's preference of Long Range Combat.

Kiba was a completely different story; possessing the _Taijutsu_ of the notable _Inuzuka Clan_ made him a fierce opponent. His movements savage and animalistic, powerful but weary, his moves were that of an intelligent animal - befitting the blood of the _Inuzuka_ , a clan known for their _Taijutsu_ and tracking abilities. His sense of smell was _killer_ as well, it didn't matter if Naruto could blur from his sight, Kiba could _always_ tell where he is, it was almost ridiculous. Needless to say, the win-lose ratio was a lot more balanced in this case; unfortunately for Naruto, it was leaning more towards Kiba.

Naruto would love to fight Kiba when he used his Ninjutsu, from what he's heard of the _Inuzuka Clan,_ their techniques were even _more_ badass than their fighting style.

And, finally, we arrive at the most troublesome opponents Naruto has faced in his entire life.

Uchiha Sasuke - survivor and heir of the Uchiha Clan - and Hyuuga Hanabi - heiress of the strongest clan in Konohagakure, the Hyuuga Clan.

( **A.N. Hanabi Hyuuga is not a writing error, that was on purpose. You'll have to wait a couple chapters to learn more about it.)**

These two were absolute _assholes_ to fight; that isn't to say they were fighting dirty, no - they were just _that_ damn good. In all his time at the academy, he never managed to defeat them once.

Hanabi Hyuuga was the worst to fight by far, though; at least with Sasuke he managed to _touch_ him and even get a _couple_ hits in when he was having a good day.

The same couldn't be said for his spars with the heir of the Hyuuga Clan.

Uzumaki Naruto has _never_ managed to touch Hyuuga Hanabi once. She was _that_ fucking good; her movements so graceful, so powerful, she defeated him within moments without so much as a sweat in effort.

She was like a _goddess_ when she fought - both appearance-wise and fighting-wise, but then again, she wasn't known as the Top Student for nothing. While Uchiha Sasuke was the top male student, Hanabi was both the Top Female student and the highest scoring student on the Genin Exam.

She was the _strongest_ of their class; at least, that's what people say. Naruto never saw Hanabi and Sasuke fight, almost as if the senseis kept them apart on purpose, but, nevertheless, that's what was said. They both came from amazing clans, each possessing a unique _Taijutsu_ and _Doujutsu_ , but the _Hyuuga Clan_ were known for having the strongest _Taijutsu Style_ in Konohagakure, but who knew? The _Sharingan vs_ The _Byakugan,_ the _Intercepting Fist_ of the _Uchiha Clan_ vs the _Gentle Fist_ of the _Hyuuga Clan._

Nonetheless, they were _nightmares_ to fight, showing Naruto the fine difference between strength and skill.

All his losses brought alongside a single confirmation with them: strength meant absolutely _nothing_ without skill. Naruto's body was already amazing, now he just needed skill - something that is earned through hard work, sweat, blood, and tears!

Something he was more than willing to go through! Then he would be able to surpass both Hanabi and Sasuke!

Suddenly…

" _MASTER! LISTEN TO ME WHEN I TALK TO YOU, DAMN IT!"_

There was the sound of a roaring lioness.

Blocking his ears with his hands to muffle the noise, he groaned when he realised it was useless; you can't muffle a voice that's coming from the inside of your head, after all.

"My ears!" Naruto complained, his voice just as loud, "They're bleeding! What the hell, Kushina!"

He heard the sound of huffing echoing within his mind before an annoyed voice replied to his question, " _I've been trying to call you for ten minutes, but you just continued to ignore me to gaze into your bloody reflection, you narcissistic asshole!"_

Naruto suddenly learned a new side of Kushina; she was terrifying when angry.

Naruto clapped his hands over his ears - even when he knew it was futile, it was simply a habit - and felt his face flush as she continued, " _I get it: you have a surprisingly sexy bod' for a thirteen year old…"_ He heard her mumble to herself, " _Way better than many others - including adults. I can only imagine how you'll look like when you're older…"_

His face glowed brighter as she complimented his body, but she didn't stop there, it seems complimenting him wasn't her goal as she continued, " _But don't you think it's kind of creepy to admire yourself for that long...It's really weird."_ He heard her sigh in exasperation, " _Especially with that perverted glow in your eyes; honestly, who in their right mind would lust for their own body?"_

Naruto hurriedly spewed out denials, attempting to tell her that wasn't the case, but all that came out were strangled words and syllables; unfortunately for Naruto, she didn't stop there.

" _Especially, when you could ogle a beauty like me instead."_

Que face plant. Needless to say, he stopped spluttering denials and looked up at his ceiling with flushed cheeks.

He heard her sigh playfully and he could _feel_ the smirk on her face at scoring another victory, " _Really...How rude. All you have to do is ask, master. I wouldn't mind showing you a peak...or more."_

Naruto chuckled; he didn't realize that the game was still going on, but, once again, he hated losing.

"What? Just a peak?" Naruto complained, a teasing glint hanging in his eyes, "I just gave you a free show, the least you can do is offer me the same."

Naruto just _adored_ the sound of her spluttering on her own words; it felt amazing to be on the other side, watching - well, in his case, listening - as she made a fool of herself.

" _D-Don't be such a pervert, Master!"_

Naruto blinked.

"I'm the pervert? Who the hell is the one with the master/slave fetish here?"

" _Meep_."

It was silent for a few moments before Naruto's lips twitched upwards, "Did you just…"

" _Not a word_."

Her tone was dead serious.

Naruto lips twitched again, "You totally did…"

" _Not a_ fucking _word, dattebane!"_

Silence.

Naruto grinned, "You squealed! That was so cute! Do it again! Who's a cute lil' girl! Squeal for me again! D'awwww!"

He didn't realize how kinky that sounded. Fortunately, the redhead within his mind understood for the both of them.

Kushina was glad Naruto couldn't see her since she had steam coming from her ears in embarrassment.

"Really...Who's the childish one out of the two of us?" Naruto concluded with a grin, "The match...Is mine."

" _Shut up, Master,"_ Kushina's tone was easily read as embarrassed, something that Naruto found pleasure in.

Naruto blinked.

"Wait - Master? I thought we were done with that!" Naruto complained; bringing the redhead out of her embarrassment to a conversation that was easy to talk about.

" _Master is Master. Forever. I'll be eternally yours."_

Her words were so sweet and loving that he had to take a few minutes to get his heart rate back under control.

He sighed, "I've only known you for a day and I'm _already_ giving up on an argument; I've never done that before…"

" _I'm totally worth it though!"_

Naruto smiled, "Without a doubt."

And then the conversation continued, a simple congression of words that eventually lead back to their original topic. Thankfully for Naruto, no one lived in the same apartment building as him so there was no one to see him talking to himself...And blushing to himself…

That would be awfully embarrassing.

"So. How come you're talking to me now, but ignored me after I left your place?" Naruto questioned curiously, she didn't answer him before afterall.

" _Maybe I just had enough of you?_ " Kushina suggested innocently causing an expression of befuddlement to hit Naruto's face.

"But I'm so lovable. You can never have enough. It's like ramen; a single taste and you're forever hooked."

She giggled. Naruto smiled.

" _Anyways, to answer your question, establishing this connection took a helluva lot of time. It took me all night to do it, dattebane!"_ Naruto heard her thump her chest proudly, " _But I'm Kushina Uzumaki and I can do anything!"_

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Kushina Uzumaki?"

" _Mhmm."_ She hummed to his unasked question, " _It had a nice ring to it, besides you created me...Or sealed me."_ She whispered teasingly, " _So you have to take responsibility."_

Naruto simply shrugged, "No problems here. I'm the one who offered it to you anyways; besides, it sounds... _Right."_

They didn't know it, but they wore matching grins.

" _So! What's going on today!"_ Kushina asked cheerily, watching curiously as Naruto moved out of his room and towards the shower across the hall.

"Well, _I'm_ going to have a shower right now." He grinned, "So unless you actually _want_ to give me that free show, you better dismiss this connection...Pervert."

He felt Kushina sigh in disappointment, which felt really weird within his mind, " _I was hoping you wouldn't notice…"_

"And you wonder why I call you a pervert."

" _Teehee_."

He rolled his eyes before speaking once more when a question struck him, "By the way...How do I open a connection to talk to you?"

" _It's pretty simple: just hold your chakra in while thinking of me and let it burst outwards like breaking out of a Genjutsu. It's the same for both establishing and breaking a connection."_

Naruto blinked.

"Well, there goes my 'escaping from Genjutsu' dilemma. Thank you, Kushina!" Naruto said with a grateful smile; this was probably one of the many things he didn't learn at the academy.

" _No problem! I guess I'll have a shower too."_

Naruto blinked...Again.

"You can have a shower in a golden void?"

" _I can do anything!"_

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Of course you can!"

And then he broke the connection and moved towards the shower. A pleasant sigh was released from his mouth as the hot water washed over him, cascading down his long blonde hair and rinsing him clean. After an extremely hot shower, he left his bathroom and dried himself before making his way back into his room.

His apartment was rather large for a single person apartment, sometimes it made it kind of lonely, but Naruto liked the large space at the same time. A single large bedroom was placed in the same hall as his bathroom, extra closet, and laundry room, with Naruto's room at the end of the Hall. On the opposite end of the hall, it revealed a decently sized living room which was connected with his kitchen.

For a single man apartment, it was amazing. Naruto loved it in every way and form; it was his home. Making his way into his room, he headed towards his closet to put on some clothes. Unfortunately, Naruto never washed his orange track suit, so he couldn't wear that today.

Fortunately, Naruto had other clothes to wear; clothes he bought yesterday, in fact, after hearing the Old Man's words.

" _You're a Shinobi now, Naruto-kun. How you dress, the way you act, they'll all be seen as in the name of Konohagakure. Whenever you leave the village on official business in the name of Konohagakure. Appearances have to be kept, at all cost. How you act and look in your own time is unimportant, but how you act and look while on a mission – that is crucial."_

Hokage-Jiji was right; so, he reluctantly forgoed orange. Quickly throwing his clothes on, he turned to look at his mirror, taking in his appearance. It was nothing like Naruto's original outfit; although, it appeared similar, almost like a variant of the clothes he used to wear as a child - just a darker, more professional version of it. Naruto wore a dark blue sleeveless jacket with a white furred hood, left unzipped slightly over his chest, leaving a little V-cut to show the shirt underneath and an Uzumaki insignia placed on his back. Underneath the jacket laid a long-sleeved black shirt with the Uzumaki swirl on both of his shoulders. Black pants were placed on his legs and tied down with white bandages starting near his ankles and continued until meeting his blue sandals; bandages were also strapped around his thigh, holding up his kunai pouch, while another was placed on his waist, hanging slightly over his butt and held his other materials - smoke bombs, wires, and the like - and a white sash was tied around his waist, a single long piece falling down his side and reaching his knees.

Naruto moved his eyes up to his face and took in his appearance for the first time in a while; when was the last time he actually _checked_ how he looked like? Seemingly a long time ago, seeing how much longer his hair was now. Long blonde spikes cascaded down his head, obscuring his vision when some spikes feel over his eyes. Pushing the uneven bangs away - which seemed pretty pointless seeing how it just fell back into place; fortunately, it didn't inhibit his vision anymore - his eyes turned to the longer bangs running down the sides of his face, soon it'd reach his jaw line.

Shaking his head, Naruto sighed, "A haircut is too troublesome."

His eyebrow twitched; maybe he _was_ part Nara?

Throwing those thoughts away, he finished his look by placing his headband around his neck - not really having a reason to place it around his head; overall, Naruto thought he looked pretty decent. Maybe even _better_ than when he was wearing his normal orange tracksuit even though this outfit didn't have nearly as much orange.

Cracking his neck, he made his way out of his room and towards his living room. If he went in the living room last night and actually _looked_ around, he would've been prepared for the figure on his couch.

But he didn't. So he was surprised.

It was his clone.

He was sleeping on his couch with a stupid grin on his face and - Naruto gasped; was that his Dog nap cap placed on his head? He was looking for that everywhere yesterday before giving up and going to bed.

" _This bastard."_ Naruto growled; he was really starting to hate this _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu._

Not only did this asshole take _his_ nap cap, but it seems he didn't even go to the library judging by the lack of books in the area! He stepped near him...Only to step on something relatively soft, but stable at the same time.

" _This feeling…"_ Naruto didn't want to look down; he didn't want to believe what he was feeling was true, but he picked up his courage and looked down.

He gasped.

Ten instant ramen cups laid on the ground, all of them finished, not even a drop left in any of the cups. Naruto swore he only bought ten cups as well...He looked at the press and felt his heartbeat slow; all his ramen cups...Gone.

He chuckled eerily.

Appearing as an angry apparition with glowing red eyes, Naruto took a banana - an actual banana - and ever-so-kindly placed it in his clones mouth for him to eat.

...And what he meant by that was shoving the bananas roughly into his mouth one after the other before pinching his nostrils and slamming his knee into his nuts all the while.

The same thing, really.

The clone was awake after the first banana.

He was starting to lose consciousness after the tenth.

He could only shudder at the evil glimmer in his creator's eyes, "I wonder…" The original chuckled sending a cold shiver down his spine, "How many bananas can I shove into you?"

Once again, Naruto missed the sexual reference that layered his words.

Minutes passed before a familiar voice echoed in Naruto's mind, " _Okay, I'm done with my show- What the hell is this?"_ She added as an afterthought, " _That's kind of kinky don't ya think, dattebane? I'm not really into that sort of stuff, Master."_

Kushina was right to think that...Yes, _both_ thoughts were actually right this time. The clone was hog tied - his feet and hands tied together on his back - with multiple bananas shoved into his mouth. His eyes were hilariously wide as he tried to _not_ choke on all the bananas placed in his throat.

Making conversation at seeing the odd situation, Kushina asked, " _How many bananas is that."_

Naruto shoved another into his clone's mouth before answering, "18."

" _Impressive."_ A bit of silence, " _...Should I be worried about you?"_

"He ate my ramen. _All_ of my ramen."

Her sympathy for the clone disappeared as her eyes glowed red, " _Gut that bitch."_

"Trust me." Naruto chuckled alongside of Kushina as their red eyes stared at the clone who could only choke in fear, "I will…"

Eventually, Naruto took some pity on his clone and destroyed it.

" _Just a question, but why make a clone if all he did was eat your ramen."_

Naruto scowled as a memory popped up in his head, "It wasn't just my ramen either! The bastard ate at Ichiraku's too."

His mind was so clouded with anger, that Naruto didn't even notice how he suddenly knew that information. Kushina, on the other hand, assumed that this was something he asked the clone before she opened up the link.

Shaking his head, Naruto responded, ignoring Kushina's chuckles at his expense, "Anyways, I created him yesterday after I got out of that other dimension. I was trying to figure out what to train in over the next three weeks so I can spend my time well...Since I'm an awful ninja."

" _Yup."_

Her cheery tone at admitting his faults kind of pissed him off.

Inhaling slightly, Naruto continued, "My Taijutsu - well I can't even call it Taijutsu; it's pretty much just brawling - sucks and it isn't something that can just be fixed in a couple of weeks. You need time and practice to get good at Taijutsu…" Naruto blew out of his lips, "My Genjutsu is inexistent, but now I know how to dismiss illusions so at least that's good! With all of that in mind, there was really only one thing I could actually improve over the next three weeks: Ninjutsu."

Naruto rubbed his chin; sounding like he was thinking outloud to himself rather than speaking to Kushina, "I still haven't practiced much with my Chakra Chains not to mention I barely understand this _Yin-Yang Release_ business. Then there's my _Kawarimi_ and _Henge_ \- while I have them both down as well as my class, I feel like they could be better, faster. Not to mention I _still_ have that _Yin Release_ technique to work on." He counted off his fingers as he listed all the things he can improve in during the three weeks, "Ninjutsu is something that I can actually get better at in this short amount of time unlike Taijutsu which would make it a long term project."

Naruto continued after drinking a glass of water, "But then I realized I should work on my Taijutsu as well. Sure, it's going to be long term project, but the sooner I start, the sooner I get better even if it won't improve in a few weeks. The problem was that I didn't even know where to start. I'm relying completely on instinct during fights rather than skills. To gain skills I needed either a sensei or something to learn from, but to do that I needed Taijutsu scrolls...And then I remembered the library."

Naruto groaned in his hands, "I guess this is kind of my fault as well...I created _that_ Kage Bunshin and sent him to the library. I should've realized that the library wouldn't be open during the night. Unfortunately, the library was closed so my clone came here after eating Ichiraku Ramen with the intention of heading out tomorrow."

Naruto blinked.

"Wait...How did I know that?"

Kushina blinked as well, " _Didn't the clone tell you?"_

Naruto shook his head, "That's the problem! He didn't tell me! I just...Know! It's like I went there myself! I can even remember the taste of...Ramen."

Kushina eyes shined in realization, but she spoke first to confirm her thoughts, " _The Jutsu you used to create the clone wouldn't happen to be the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, would it!"_

Kushina heard his surprised voice echo around her, "Yeah! How did you know that?"

A Cheshire grin made its way on Kushina's face and she exclaimed, " _Naruto! You're going to want to jump on top of your slave after I tell you this, but I've found a solution to a lot of your problems!"_

Naruto resisted the urge to jump into the air, but there was no missing the excitement in his words even if he tried, and failed, to speak in a nonchalant manner, "Really...What would that be?"

" _Say the magic word!"_

Naruto's response was dry, "Please tell me beautiful mistress."

Kushina giggled, " _That didn't sound sincere."_ She heard him groan and smiled in response, " _But I'm so nice that'll I'll tell you anyways!"_

Going into teacher mode again, Kushina spoke, " _The Kage Bunshin no Jutsu is an A-Rank forbidden Jutsu for a reason, dattebane! It's not because of the chakra cost and the ability to create corporeal clones - even if they are part of it - the real reason it's seen as an A-Rank Jutsu is due to its ability to pass on information!"_

Naruto tilted his head, "Pass on information?"

" _Mhmm! This Jutsu was originally created for scouting purposes because of the ability to transfer information. Whenever a clone dies, the creator gains the information and experience that clone had."_

"I guess that's pretty awesome." Naruto said, nodding to himself, "But I still can't see how that would help me with my problem…"

Naruto twitched when she sighed, " _Don't worry Master. I will never leave, even when you are at your stupidest."_

"You're asking for a beating aren't you."

" _Not really into S &M."_

"You'll like it when I'm done with you." Naruto muttered.

" _I heard that."_

"Good."

" _..."_

"..."

" _...Were yo-"_

"No, I was not being serious. Get your mind out of the gutter."

Kushina giggled, " _It makes me so warm when you finish my questions like that."_

Naruto groaned, "I think I liked it better when you were trying to build my resistance to seduction…"

" _Then I'll be sure to go at you full-out, ma-st-er~"_

"Kill me."

This game went on for too long, so we skip to the future where Kushina finally get backs on track.

" _Anyways, think about it! If a Kage Bunshin can give you back all the experience it gains, what does that offer you? Imagine you're training to use a Jutsu. Say it takes you 12 days to learn it by yourself...Now say you create a clone. That's 2x the experience coming back to you, bringing it down to 6 days instead of 12. If you made two clones, that brings the Jutsu mastery down to 4 days. If you make 11 clones, you learn the Jutsu in a day!"_

Naruto's eyes widened in disbelief, "No...Way! That's way too OP! I could learn hundreds of Jutsus like this!"

" _There are a few problems with it though. One: the chakra drain which isn't a real problem to you, so I'll move onto the next problem. Memory Overload: The human brain isn't able to handle so much information from nowhere at all. You have to train it."_

Naruto ran a hand through his hair as he thought outloud, "So it's like lifting weights, when you first start, your muscles can't handle a certain amount. You have to increase the weight slowly in order for your muscles to get stronger."

Kushina nodded, " _There's a big difference though; you can just drop the weight if it's too heavy, but when you create the clones, you won't know it's too much until it's too late. Let's not forget if it_ is _too much…You'll go brain dead."_

Naruto scratched his cheek nervously, "Sounds like a pretty serious double-edged blade." Narrowing his eye, he asked, "So what's the cost?"

" _The cost?"_

"When you lift weights, you always have a soreness when you're done after starting and increasing your weight. What's the "soreness" in this type of training." Naruto asked; secretly, Kushina was surprised. She knew Naruto wasn't stupid, but he was able to be extremely sharp at times.

Shaking her head, Kushina answered, " _Well, headaches for one. The moment you dismiss the clones, you'll have a massive headache - which signifies that your brain is trying to process the information. Other costs are feeling phantom pains."_

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Phantom pains?"

" _Mhmm. You feel everything that the clones felt - pain, exhaustion, absolutely anything. If the pain is too much for you to handle, you'll black out, sometimes you could even die."_

Naruto didn't pale; instead, he grinned brightly, "Well! Let's get started!"

Kushina simply shook her head in amusement; Naruto just couldn't be brought down by anything, even the thought that he might die didn't make him reconsider this type of training

What a strange kid.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Naruto's voice, "How many clones do you think I can make right now?"

" _Maybe two or three? The brain doesn't store more than 30% of the things you see every day. I'd say two would be a safe bet, three is possible, but risky, with four...You'd die."_

Naruto took it all in stride, "Let's get going then! Thanks a bunch Kushina-chan!"

And hopped out the window.

 **XxMaelstromxX**

 **And that wraps up the third chapter!**

 **You know, even though this is my least popular story, I find this the most fun to write. Maybe it's because I took all of my Naruto Fanfiction ideas and placed it into a single story, but everything is so smooth to write. This will be my masterpiece, I'm feeling it even if it's doing the worst right now.**

 **Thanks for all the reviews last chapter!**

 **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**

 **I'm not giving Naruto that OP shit. It's honestly ridiculous so I will NOT have him be able to create like 100 clones and gain all that experience. Complete bullshit. At most, he'll have ten clones. I refuse to make him so OP like other fanfictions because of this damn hack. So I twisted it in my favour; my Kage Bunshin no Jutsu is different from Canon.**

 **Anyways, remember to drop a review, follow and favorite, if you enjoyed the chapter! Reviews, honestly, make writing so much easier and faster when their are people loving it!**

 **The next update should be within in the next two weeks.**

 **See you next time!**


	4. Chapter 4: The Countdown Begins

**Morning! Thanks for all the reviews last chapter! Before we start I'm just going to make some quick responses to the general comments I've been getting. I suggest reading it!**

Pairing

 **I'm not telling. He could be paired with Kushina or perhaps he'll be paired with someone else. To be completely honest, I'm not sure on the pairing yet. I'm more focused on the plot at the moment (Not** _ **that**_ **plot you fucks).**

Kushina

 **I have plans for her. One thing you should know about this story is that anything I introduce (No matter how** _ **small**_ **) is of significance to the story. I always have a plan laid out for every character I introduce. Currently, Kushina is acting like Naruto's Yoda and best friend.**

Story

 **I should probably tell you how I created this story. You see, once upon a time I had all these sweet Naruto fanfiction ideas, but there was no way I had time to write ALL of them; so, instead, I took all of my ideas and created a single story from it. Yes; this story** **WILL** **include gags, plot, development, action, and every other type of thing you could possibly see in a story! How is it done? How is it possible? Simply put: I'm a badass. I threaded them so well together that even i'm shocked. Man. Sometimes I really wish I could read my stories instead of writing it, but, alas, it's not possible. Summing it up: this story will actually be** _ **extremely**_ **serious (Not even a lie; it gets pretty dark), but still with slight gags. If you don't like it, just don't read it (Thanks for reading this far anyways).**

Title

 **The only way the title will be explained (and the summary as a result) is if you keep reading. Don't worry. The summary will explain itself in the next couple of chapters. The title, however, will slowly make sense to you as the story continues. Don't bitch about it; just accept it.**

 **I hope this answers most of your questions! I'll do this every chapter to clarify things for you. I'm doing my best to hash out as many chapters as I can before college starts up again. Updates will be ALOT less frequent once September comes around. I'm aiming for around five chapters before college starts. Yes. It's going to be hard as shit to do with only a week remaining. Make sure you drop a review because of this!**

 **XxMaelstromxX**

 **Maelstrom**

 _ **Chapter Four**_

 _The Countdown Begins_

" _Hey, Master?"_

Naruto found it odd, better yet - frightening, that he didn't even put up a fight anymore. He simply accepted the redhead's words, knowing that it was useless to even put up a fight.

She was _more_ stubborn than himself...Yeah, that's how bad it is. What made it worse is that he gave up an argument - something he's _never_ done before - and he didn't even know her a day!

Naruto shook his head in amusement, " _Seriously, this girl."_

"Yeah?"

Naruto didn't seem to realize that he wasn't inside his room right now and that talking to himself out loud appeared insane to onlookers or, perhaps, he did notice it, but thought nothing of it since the villagers were _always_ looking at him with scorn and hatred; although, today they were more confused at his sudden response as if someone asked him a question.

Thankfully for Naruto, they simply wrote it off as nothing, just a child - even if he _is_ the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki - being an idiot.

Wasn't a big surprise to the villagers.

Strolling through the streets with his hands in his pockets, Naruto looked into the sky, watching the slow moving clouds pass through the air. The truth was: Naruto didn't even realize he was speaking out loud; he was so used to speaking to Kushina that he didn't realize that others could hear him.

Kushina's sweet voice sung out within his head, " _I was just wondering why you aren't wearing your headband around your head. Why the neck?"_

She giggled, " _You get it? Why the neck? It sounds like why the heck!"_

Naruto dryly responded, "Absolutely hilarious."

Kushina pouted.

The villagers looked disturbed - something that Naruto didn't notice; he was so used to blocking out their glares that he didn't notice the change of expression.

Naruto looked up into the blue clouds, recalling his memories over the past two days and sighing, "...I didn't deserve this headband when I graduated, I wasn't even fighting like a real ninja, I survived with dumb luck. I still don't deserve to be a ninja right now...So," Naruto touched the plate of his headband, finding it cold even with the searing sun hanging over his head like a wrathful protector, "I will not tie this head band around my forehead until **I** see myself as an actual ninja. I, myself, no one else. I will never tie this head band around myself even if other people acknowledge me as a ninja. That is my vow, my promise that I will live for from this moment on."

He gripped his fist and continued, "I will train - harder than anyone else, bleed more than anyone else, I'll bring myself to the point of death - until I deserve this head band!"

Kushina was stunned by his proclamation and couldn't help, but listen to his words proudly. Even without parents, he grew up into a young man that _everyone_ would respect one day.

" _Amazing…"_ Kushina whispered, bringing a slight blush to Naruto's cheeks. He wasn't used to praise, especially such earnest compliments.

Unfortunately, she wasn't the only one listening.

The civilians were absolutely _horrified_ \- even the ones who knew he wasn't the Kyuubi, but the Tailed Beast's blonde haired monster was talking as if there was _someone_ talking to him...Someone _they_ couldn't see. The ones who thought _he_ was the Kyuubi, contradicted themselves with the thought that was revolving through everyone's head at the moment.

And so a rumor was born, bringing _loads_ of trouble the blonde's way.

" _He's talking...To the Kyuubi."_

The rumor spread like fire.

Once again, they weren't the only ones who were listening to Naruto's exclamation.

"Such Youth! It burns so brightly on this summer day! I told you, Lee, that I felt someone blazing brightly on my Youth Radar."

Naruto immediately turned around at the voice sounding out behind him, his eyes widening at the monstrosity that laid before him - for it could in no way be considered a human.

Once again, Naruto was an honest boy.

"That's not the only thing that's blazing…"

He was so dragged into his thoughts of the man that he couldn't even hear Kushina's giggle.Before him was a tall man - Naruto hesitated to even _think_ that the figure before him was a human, but he was bipedal, showing that he could only be a human - in a skin-tight green leotard, orange leg warmers placed on his legs and a Konoha vest placed on his body; shining white teeth, bushy eyebrows, and finishing his style with a bowl cut haircut. The Konoha head plate tied around the man's waist brought no comfort to Naruto; no, his eyes were drawn to the Shinobi's eyes - alight with fire, signifying his youth.

"Guy-sensei!" An exuberant voice echoed from behind the monstrosity before blurring in view beside him, "Did you hear that! He doesn't even know you, but he already knows the fire that is your youth blazes brighter than the sun."

"Oh, gods. There's another one of them." Naruto muttered to himself in disbelief; unknowingly making a familiar silver haired man with a headband covering a single eye, chuckle at the blonde's exclamation.

Of course, Kakashi did nothing to intrude on his future student's situation. As long as he didn't join his team in a green leotard, Kakashi would be happy.

And so he strolled along.

Naruto found that he was wearing the exact same uniform besides the bandages that were strapped around his arms and his lack of his Chunin Vest.

"Youngster," Exclaimed the bigger green monster who went by the name of Guy, "To find my youth so amazing...I thank you! But…" A hand rested on his younger twin's shoulder, "My student here has twice the amount of Youth as me!"

His student's eyes widened with disbelief, brimming with unshed tears, "Guy-sensei! There is no one with as much Youth as yourself!"

"Lee!"

"Guy-sensei!"

Naruto _swore_ he heard someone chuckle as a Genjutsu activated and the surroundings disappeared to become a sandy beach with the sun setting.

Even the civilians weren't spared from the horror that started; Naruto could only watch in disbelief as the green monsters leaped at each other in a race to engage the other in an angry dance, arms wide appearing as if they were about to have a furious battle of life and death.

Until Naruto saw their tears of happiness.

And then the two men in _skin-tight_ leotards embraced each other tightly.

" _...You know, Master, I've been awake all of last night making that connection…"_ Kushina's nervous voice spoke out, " _So I'll just go...Now."_

Naruto's eye twitched as she disconnected from him, running away to leave him all alone with the beasts.

Naruto reopened the link.

" _Shit, dattebane!"_

He withheld a smile; unfortunately, even that small amount of amusement gained by her reaction was whisked away by the monstrosities before him. Their bodies brought closer and closer together, Naruto could only watch in horror as they tried to become one. Pointing at the figures weakly, he whispered, "What _are_ you?"

A boisterous laugh met his words after they finished embracing; simultaneously, they stuck out their thumbs and struck a 'Good Guy' pose, there teeth shining brightly as the bigger twin spoke first, "I am Might Guy, Jonin-sensei of three youthful students! Holder and fan that strengthens the burning flames of youth!"

After Guy-sensei finished, Naruto turned his cerulean eyes to the smaller twin as he spoke in a voice filled with as much exuberance as his bigger brother, "And I am the handsome devil of Konohagakure! The second coming of the Green Beast, the man who blooms from the cherry blossoms! I am Rock Lee, student of the most youthful man in the world!"

Naruto found that they were surprisingly emotional for ninja.

 _Too_ emotional.

"Lee!"

"Guy-sensei!"

" _Stop them, dattebane! The children! They won't be able to handle another one!"_

Hoping to stop their embrace, Naruto scrambled forward and introduced himself in an exuberant tone that was comparable to the monsters in front of him, "Uh...I'm Uzumaki Naruto! Future Hokage of the Leaf Village!"

"Ho." Guy-sensei spoke with his grin spread wide on his face, "That is a most youthful dream, indeed!"

"And the youth he displayed in his speech really stroked my own flames of youth, Guy-sensei!" Rock Lee added, determination brimming in his eyes.

He didn't seem to notice Naruto's horror at his choice of words; however, Kushina did, " _It seems I don't have to put you through my seduction lessons after all…_ "

"I'm not gay!" Naruto exclaimed; once again he was not aware of the looks of the civilians as they watched the scene before him. Thankfully, his company consisting of two green leotard guys, didn't notice his outburst, so focused on their youth as they were.

Kushina teasingly continued, _"You could've stoked your flames with me instead of Lee, Master. I wouldn't have minded…"_

Naruto's face flushed red, "I-I'm not! I didn't!" Snapping in embarrassment, he exclaimed, "STOP MESSING WITH ME, DATTEBAYO!"

Once again, the civilians were horrified by the Jinchuuriki's actions while Guy and Lee were too caught up in their youth to notice his screams.

" _I can't believe you would cheat on me."_ Kushina huffed within his mind, puffing up her cheeks like a squirrel.

Twitch.

"I will eat you."

" _Master...So naughty."_

Naruto paled; this was wrong on so many levels.

Imagine how the readers are reacting to this, young Naruto. A mother - who didn't know she was mother - and a child - who didn't know she was his mother - flirting so blatantly. Even the author doesn't know how to feel about this.

Seriously. He doesn't.

Fortunately, Naruto managed to dismiss his conversation with Kushina when Lee exclaimed, "Naruto-kun is so youthful, he ignited my own flames again! Yosh! I will run 20 laps around Konoha to fan my very own flames of youth!"

Naruto could only wonder, " _What the fuck?"_

"Shine brightly, Lee! I shall join you as well!" Guy shouted before turning to the young Genin before him, "Your dream and your wish to be worthy of your headband! That is most youthful! Tell me, who is your sensei, Naruto-kun!"

Naruto scratched his cheek, "I just graduated from the academy. I'll be given my sensei in a couple weeks...So I'm not sure."

Gai smiled brightly, his eyes brimming in emotion, "To have such youth without even a sensei to fan your flames! That's truly admirable!"

"...Thanks."

Gai slammed his fist into his palm, "I have an idea! Would you like to train with us next week? I won't be able to train you since I'm not your sensei, but I can point your youth in the right direction!"

Naruto's mouth dropped, literally; this was the very first time _anyone_ has ever offered to help him in _anything_ (Besides Hokage-Jiji). He's had to learn everything by himself from day one; Naruto was used to it and planned to make the best out of his situation with Kushina by his side.

But for this to happen?

He certainly didn't think that this strange situation would lead to this question...This stranger - someone he spoke to maybe for five minutes - offered to help _him,_ the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. Not just that, but he was a Jounin-sensei with his own team as well.

And he was offering him a chance to train with them? Was there really another answer to this question?

"We will be out for a mission for the next week, but on this coming Monday, we can fan our youthful flames together! What do you say!" Lee asked with a grin on his face, "I would love to spar with another student of hard work!"

Naruto could only say one thing, "Hell yeah! I'd love to!" Sharing matching grins, the three strange humans laughed boisterously together. Naruto was starting to find this guy kind of cool...As odd as it seems.

"Very well! We shall meet at 5:00 am on Monday at Training Ground 3!" Guy added, "What shall you be doing now?"

"Well…" Naruto's hesitance faded after realising this was someone who was willing to help him, "I was going to go to the library to look for Taijutsu scrolls before training...My Taijutsu is awful and I want to get _a lot_ better at it."

Naruto watched as Gai's grin widened, "This must truly be faith! The gods of youth must truly be watching over you!"

" _Gods...Of youth."_ Kushina spoke in a disturbed fashion, " _Naruto...Be careful, they might contaminate you!"_

Naruto smirked mentally and thought, " _Why? The gods of youth are truly looking over me and are fanning my flames with their youthful winds."_

" _Stop that!"_

Laughing mentally, he toned into Guy's words as he spoke, "I happen to be the best Taijutsu user in this village! I shall gladly fan your youth in that particular area until you are gifted with your own Jounin-sensei!" Before Naruto could even express his shock at his skill level or even say 'thank you', he already turned to Lee and shouted, "My youth is truly burning today, Lee! We will do these laps on our hands! If we cannot go around the village 20 times then we shall do 1000 single finger push ups with each finger!"

"YOSH!"

And they disappeared into the sun set.

Naruto blinked.

"That...Was interesting."

 **XxMaelstromxX**

All this time, Naruto thought he wasted four years of information and training from not heading to the library. From the tales told by his classmates and all the older people in the village, he could only assume that the library held a variety of forbidden information that could allow him to undergo a metamorphosis; a place where Jutsu of all kinds were stored.

To all the people who said this, he could only say one thing, " _Fuck off."_

Naruto was wrong; the library was just as useless as he originally thought it was. Sighing in annoyance, he slapped himself mentally for wasting time he could've used training.

Frowning slightly, Naruto once again looked at the section that was allowed to Genin: a small space with two long columns filled to the brink with scrolls.

Completely useless scrolls.

They had absolutely no Jutsu information at all, not even the academy basic three! Instead, it simply had information on the Elemental Nations, Ninja History, and Chakra Theory - which was actually useful, but more on that later.

He grinded his teeth in annoyance when he realised that there weren't even sections of the library reserved to higher ranking Ninja - Chunin and Jounin; there was only a Genin section.

It made him want to slap his face in annoyance.

" _Of course they wouldn't place information like that on bookshelves that anyone who walks in can access. What are they going to do if thieves break in and try to take some of the scrolls? Send librarians out to fight them and read them a book as they run away?"_

Naruto sometimes really hated how idiotic he was; seriously, how did he not realize that before? Why would they place Jutsu known to only Konohagakure in bookshelves that any disguised ninja can just come into and rob.

Groaning into his hands, Naruto realised that Konoha probably has its own Shinobi library in the Hokage tower where it's guarded and protected; not in a public storage unit. It was probably near the place where the Scroll of Seals was hidden. Maybe he should…Naruto shook his head, " _Bad thoughts, bad thoughts…"_

The temptation was still there though.

Needless to say, it was a massive disappointment, but it wasn't a _complete_ waste of time; at least he gained some useful information.

Specifically: Yin and Yang.

Naruto would've added Taijutsu onto that small list since, fortunately, they _did_ have some basic Taijutsu scrolls, but, with one look at the information found there, he found himself blanking out. It was an instinctive action that made him close the scroll and put it away.

Naruto knew his strengths and weaknesses; he was _not_ a taking-in-information-and-applying-it kind of learner, he had a more hands-on approach to such things.

So he forgoed the Taijutsu scrolls.

Naruto walked out of the library with his hands in his pockets, strolling along and remembering what he learned from the Chakra Theory scrolls - those were actually _extremely_ useful and helped him understand his Chakra Chains a bit more.

" _Katon, Futon, Raiton, Doton, and Suiton. These are the considered the five rudimentary advanced applications of chakra - also known as the Chakra Natures possessed by Ninja. How can an advanced chakra application be rudimentary? Perhaps, rudimentary wasn't the correct word; consider those releases as the base form of advanced chakra application. The more advanced forms are considered 'Kekkei Genkai' - Advanced Nature Releases, such as Lava and Ice, and other forms of Kekkei Genkais. They are different from each other, but have a single thing in common, the principle that lies beneath all chakra."_

Naruto looked into the sky as he recalled the information that he found especially intriguing.

" _Yin and Yang. All people, all chakra - no matter what kind - are made out of Yin and Yang. Unlike the Chakra Natures and Kekkei Genkai which are considered the advanced forms of chakra, Yin and Yang are the original, the base of all chakra. Yin is considered darkness while yang is light, opposites that live in harmony in every single being. Some people are capable of utilizing Yin or Yang in an offensive or supplementary action, but_ _ **never**_ _are they capable of using it in its purest form."_ Naruto scoffed; tell that to the old Sage and himself, bitch, " _From Yin comes the Illusionary Art of the Genjutsu and any Ninjutsu techniques that are based on the spiritual energy that governs imagination, which can be used to create form out of nothingness. Of course - that is the rudimentary use of Yin Release fore no one can truly grasp the illusionary art."_

" _Yang Chakra is based on the physical energy that governs vitality, can be used to breathe life into form and increase the skills of the body ten-fold. Clans such as the Akimichi and Inuzuka utilize Yang to manipulate their bodies in different ways - the size of an Akimichi and the Attributes of an animal - to strengthen themselves. Similar to Yin Release, no one has ever been able to grasp the illusionary art that is Yang Release. While there are many abilities these releases offer, there is more mystery than anything else. In and of itself, it's an elusive art that no one can understand."_

Naruto scratched his cheek slightly; while the information he found was admittedly helpful, it just made the puzzle bigger. Sure, he had some of his questions answered, but with every question that was answered came five more. Hell, they didn't even mention Yin-Yang Release - which is the ability of his chakra chains.

Naruto sighed.

" _Penny for your thoughts?"_ Kushina's voice rang out in his mind, bringing Naruto out of his funk and allowing a small smile to fall on his lips at hearing his friend.

Naruto blinked; it still felt weird to say that. He had a _friend..._ Even though she was technically in his mind and has a master-complex, she was still his first friend. An extremely beautiful friend.

His heart fluttered slightly and he willed himself to calm down. Why the hell was puberty a thing?

"Hey, Kushina. It's just that I feel kind of out of my league here. I have this awesome power that I know nothing about-"

Kushina added, " _And a beautiful woman that lives inside it."_

"-And a beautiful woman that lives inside it." Naruto relented before blinking in surprise, "What the hell are you making me say?"

" _I'm not trying to make you say anything! I was just helping you be true to yourself by adding to your thoughts."_ Kushina huffed, " _You should be thanking me."_

Twitch. Nonetheless, Kushina accomplished her goal of dragging Naruto out of his funk.

"Anyways," Naruto started, his words not as lost as they were before, but still weighed down by his weakness, by Mizuki and the Sandaime, "I'm not really sure where to start with all this. I have 20 days until I get placed into a team and there's so many things to work on - Ninjutsu and Taijutsu - and so many things that I don't know about and I just don't know where to start."

" _How is this any different from before?"_ Kushina asked, her voice not playful, acquiring a serious tone that almost made him stop in his tracks, " _You never knew anything about your chakra chains, your Yin-Yang Release, and you already confirmed that your Taijutsu is absolutely horrendous, but yesterday you had a plan! Why should it change now? Sure, more pieces are added to your puzzle and you only have three weeks, but that never made you hesitate before. Why are you hesitating now?"_

Naruto blinked; was he hesitating? When was the last time he hesitated? He couldn't even remember, but recently there's been a pressure on him that's been chaining down his determination to become stronger.

" _You're playing Ninja boy."_

No.

" _You'll never become Hokage at the rate you're at."_

No. He didn't have time to hesitate.

" _I'm weak."_

Naruto clenched his fists.

" _I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I never give up! That's my Nindo! My ninja way!"_

Who the hell was hesitating? He was simply...Lost, confused, there were too many thoughts building up in his head, the time limit and his own weaknesses weighing down on his shoulders. Alongside of all the points that were hammered into him by Mizuki and the Sandaime Hokage, he was slowly drowning.

Don't get him wrong, his sun-like determination was still there, but those thoughts introduced by Mizuki and the Old Man hung over him like Gravity, making his determination weaker, fader, _darker._

But, Kushina, with a single statement shattered all that pressure.

And the fire that was already inside him became an inferno.

Naruto grinned, "Who's hesitating! I'm just excited for all the mysteries that I'm going to solve! Let's become the best, Kushina-chan!"

Naruto couldn't see her happiness or the proud smile on his face, but he certainly heard her exclamation, " _Fuck Yeah!"_

 **XxMaelstromxX**

Chakra licked off his body wildly, appearing as lashing whips that struck everything around him at a tempo Naruto couldn't hear; uncontrollable, unstoppable, it would've appeared as a frightening sight to any onlooker. No Genin - no _human_ \- should be able to produce so much chakra that it became visible; it was an impossibility.

Naruto broke through that impossibility and wore it like a cloak, literally; he was enveloped with ravaging chakra as he gritted his teeth, trying at the best of his ability to restrain his powerful chakra.

But it didn't want to be restrained, it wanted to be free. It was like a beast, almost as if this energy had its own will, it fought against Naruto, unwilling to give him control. Needless to say, this was hurting Naruto as much as it was hurting the area around him; his surroundings were burnt and pressurized by his ravenous chakra like gravity and Naruto was faring no better. He could feel his chakra eating at his tenketsu, burning it from the overflow of life energy.

It was an exotic feeling; having his chakra points slowly destroyed while the Kyuubi's chakra simultaneously healed his self-imposed destruction - even if he was trying to control it. Needless to say, it hurt like hell.

But Naruto pushed through for one last time.

Gritting his teeth and narrowing his eyes, he imagined himself chaining down his chakra into a box - his own body - and trapping it there. People seem to have the misconception that having your chakra visible around you made you extremely powerful; it wasn't a lie, but it wasn't even close to the truth.

Humans who were capable of producing visible chakra were certainly monsters, possessing chakra levels that are comparable to the Bijuu - the Uzumaki Clan had a horde of chakra monsters. Unfortunately, even if you had all that chakra, it didn't mean nothing if you couldn't control it.

And there laid Naruto's problem.

Chakra was a double edged sword - if you couldn't control your monstrous reserves then it would ravage at one's own body. Naruto would be dead by now if he was any other ninja; thankfully, he was a Jinchuuriki alongside of having the Uzumaki Body.

The technique he was trying to perform required chakra control; at least enough to restrain his chakra into his body, but not too little to be unable to actually perform the technique. Naruto would've laughed if he wasn't trying so hard to restrain his own chakra; he supposed it wasn't an A-Rank forbidden Ninjutsu for nothing.

Unlike the Kage Bunshin which took advantage of his massive reserves, this Jutsu was not as forgiving; without control and the right chakra requirements, it would not be performed.

 _The bitch._

Naruto gritted his teeth to the point that it was actually becoming painful; why the hell couldn't he control his chakra?

But wasn't the answer in the question, itself?

Naruto growled, " _Chakra Control...Even if I can overload chakra into Ninjutsu and make them powerful, there's a high chance that it would either not work or blow up in my own face due to the lack of control."_ He groaned, " _I really have to work on that...After I get this bloody Jutsu down!"_

Growling as he restrained his chakra at the best of his ability, Naruto whispered out, **"Inton: Kokuangyo no Jutsu (Yin Release: Bringer of Darkness)."**

When Naruto arrived at the training field a few hours before, he thought he would try the Jutsu he saw in the _Scroll of Sealing,_ ignorantly thinking that it would be a walk in the park for such silly reasons. Just because his _Kekkei Genkai_ was Yin Release, Yang Release, and Yin-Yang Release, Naruto tried using this Jutsu with an overabundance of confidence.

He failed the past four times.

He didn't want to fail a fifth.

Unfortunately, he only saw nothing; which wouldn't be a problem if he meant it in a literal fashion rather than in a figurative sense since this Jutsu brought absolute darkness into the field.

But he didn't bring darkness into the field; no, the clone he was testing it on could see perfectly fine, dispelling itself after yet another failure.

Naruto groaned in annoyance; the fifth time! It was the fifth time he failed this Jutsu.

" _Another failure?"_ A cheerful voice stated even if her words were posed as a question. Kushina already knew the answer, she just wanted to see him admit it.

Naruto pouted, "It's a lot harder than you think it is…"

" _I'd imagine so. It isn't an A-Rank forbidden Jutsu for nothing, it's not like you could learn it in a few hours."_

"I learned the Kage Bunshin within an hour."

" _You know it's not the same."_ Kushina bit back childishly, squashing his meager hopes of learning the Jutsu within the day, " _Besides you were doing it wrong the past four times."_

Naruto wanted to be surprised, he really did, but he expected it; no, he realised it during the last attempt at the Jutsu. The blonde haired boy hummed before speaking, "Yeah. There were one…" Shaking his head, he corrected himself, "No; two things wrong with my attempts."

" _...And?"_

Naruto could feel the question in her tone and continued, "The first is the most obvious: Chakra Control. I don't have the control required to use this Jutsu; even if I have all the chakra in the world, it won't make a difference unless I can control it."

He heard Kushina hum in response, " _Correct! And the next error!"_

"Hai, Kaa-sama!"

" _Don't call me that! It's creepy! Besides you're my master! If you want to call me something, call me 'You sexy thing you' or 'Sexy Red' like I asked you to do before!"_

Naruto blinked, "Wrong. You asked me to call you 'You sexy thing you' or 'You fine piece of ass' not 'Sexy Red'"

" _You remembered that? You're so sweet to me, Master!"_

He didn't remember it because of the reason that Kushina really _did_ have an amazing ass. He swore he didn't.

Naruto groaned mentally, " _Fuck puberty."_

Those two words were starting to sound like his catch phrase; unfortunately for the boy, those words would be spoken hundreds of more times within the next three weeks.

"...Moving on, the second mistake I made was assuming that my Yin Release was tuned enough to use that Jutsu." Naruto laughed mockingly at himself, "It was pretty stupid to assume I could change my entire chakra to Yin Release just became I could make my chakra chains out of Yin Chakra." He shook his head, "It's an advanced form of chakra - it takes months to even _begin_ to train your affinity. I guess my cocky 'I can do anything I want to' attitude is still in me…"

" _Don't worry about that! Besides you're so cute when you're like that!"_

Cue blush.

" _Besides now that you know what you did wrong, you can work to improve it!"_ Kushina continued encouragingly, " _I know you can do it, Master!"_

Naruto blinked; a rosy blush making its way on his face as he replayed the words within his mind _over and over_ again. It was the first time someone so blatantly - no, the first time someone besides the Hokage - supported him, that someone actually told him that they believed in him. He gripped his chest tightly; what was this warm feeling? Was this how people normally felt when they were told such things or were these feelings something more? His entire body felt like it was on fire, brimming with emotions he didn't know what to do with. Naruto turned his gaze to the ground so no one could see his watering eyes, whispering in a hoarse voice, "Thank you, Kushina-chan."

At the receiving end of Naruto's heartfelt thanks, Kushins couldn't help but mimic Naruto's motion and grip her bountiful chest - her hand laying over her heart.

What was this feeling?

She didn't know how to explain it, didn't know whether to accept or reject these foreign feelings towards this boy she just met yesterday. Kushina didn't know why she felt so strongly towards Naruto, but she did.

Originally, she simply thought it was because he created her, but as it slowly became clearer and clearer, she realised she was a soul trapped in his chains. As ridiculous and unexplainable as it sounded, she found it as the truth.

Kushina couldn't explain her want, her _need_ , to please the boy in front of him, to make him smile, to fluster him into a blushing mess, to make him laugh, to be by his side and share his joy with him; it was impossible for her to understand these feelings.

But they grew stronger, fanned by the blonde's magnetic personality. As if they were opposite attractions, she was brought to his side and stuck there. Kushina wanted nothing more than to always be there.

She wanted to do everything she could to make Naruto smile because that made her smile. When he became sad, Kushina wanted to be there to give him comfort, to drive him into her bosom and tell him it would be alright. She wanted to be there when he was happy so she could share his joy. She wanted to help Naruto achieve his dreams, she wanted to be there while he moved forward, staying constantly by his side no matter the situation. Kushina couldn't tell why or how, but these feelings flourished, becoming unbearably hot as she spent every second of everyday with him.

And she only spent a day with him; Kushina could only imagine what would happen as day after day passed by.

They laid there in silence for a few precious minutes, thinking about nothing but each other and looking forward to their futures that were now chained together.

They didn't want anything more.

Shaking his head as he watched the clouds drift by, Naruto hopped to his feet and exclaimed, "Alright! I know what I'm going to do now at least!" He placed his hands in the familiar seal of his Kage Bunshin before asking, "Kushina. Quick question; it's impossible to train your body with Taijutsu, right?

Kushina eagerly replied, dismissing her stormy emotions, " _Yup! The only way to train your body is through physically doing it yourself."_

Naruto nodded to himself before continuing his thoughts, "So I can create three clones at most without dying and I'm limited to Ninjutsu. I have relatively good control over my Chakra Chains and I can train them by myself since it seems to go pretty well with Taijutsu, which leaves only two things…"

Charging his chakra, Naruto whispered - not yelling since Kushina told him real Ninja don't scream out their attack names, " **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!** "

Three puffs of smoke appeared in front of him; the obstructions to his sight were quickly dispersed by the wind, revealing three clones standing side-by-side with grins on their faces.

"Yo, boss!"

"What's up, good looking!"

"Please don't shove bananas in my throat!"

Naruto and his clones simply stated at the third clone who smiled nervously, "I'm not kidding...That fucking hurt."

The creator scratched the side of his head and laughed nervously, "Yeah...The phantom pains were awful."

"Yeah, it sucked," The first clone agreed.

The second clone picked up where the first left off and glared at the original, "Seriously, fuck you."

A familiar sweet voice sounded out within all four blondes in the clearing, " _...Is he talking to me?"_

Four blondes simultaneously face palmed and replied, "No, he is not talking to you, Kushina."

Naruto shook his head, "Honestly, this girl."

The clone nodded in agreement, "Couldn't agree more."

"Yeah...She's fucking hot."

Three clones stared at a single clone with what could only be described as a 'What the fuck' expression.

" _Ha! I knew you thought I was sexy! Guess someone's looking forward to their next seduction lesson!"_

"...And there she goes." Naruto muttered before glaring at the clone who said that, "Now we'll have to deal with her teasing us all night."

" _I can do_ _ **a lot**_ _more than just tease you tonight, Na-Ru-To-Kun."_

Four Narutos felt a pleasant shiver run down their spines.

"Fuck you, clone #3!"

"Yeah, you're a real bitch."

"I would kill you if we didn't have training to do."

Few minutes past which consisted of a word insulting gang bang of clone #3.

Naruto sighed, shaking his head at the ashen expression on clone #3's face before slapping his hands together for attention, "Anyways! Time to get training. I'm sure you already know what I'm going to ask you guys, but I'll say it anyways!" Pointing at one clone, he started, "You! You'll be working on cutting down our timing to build a chakra construct; specifically, I want you to create chakra sword after chakra sword to cut down the timing of building one. I want to be able to create one instantly by the time the three weeks are up, so get to work!"

Pointing to the second clone, he continued, "You have a similar job in cutting down the time it takes to create a chakra construct; but, rather than creating swords, I want you to try to create a barrier of chakra to stop attacks!" Finally, turning to the group's bitch - Clone #3 - he spoke, "And, finally, our bitch here will be working on our Yin Release!"

" _Oh, I have a suggestion for that!"_ Kushina piped up, " _It's the same type of training for learning an affinity! Grab a leaf and try to infuse it with Yin Chakra. I remember you summoned pure Yin Chakra for a few seconds yesterday, it should have a similar effect to that. I doubt you'll get it today, but whenever you manage to do that, try to change all of your chakra to Yin Chakra. Once you're capable of doing that, only chakra control will be standing in your way for that Jutsu!"_

Naruto's eyes gleamed, "Thanks a bunch, Kushina! You're the best! I could kiss you right now!"

Kushina turned into a mess of red and wisely chose to shut up so her embarrassment wouldn't show.

"Anyways! You heard the mistress, bitch. Get to work!" Naruto said before pointing at the clone who raised his hand.

"What will _you_ be doing during this time?"

Naruto grinned, " _I_ will be working on Chakra Control and my Taijutsu!"

With those words spoken, the clones broke apart to start their own projects. On the other hand, the original stayed in place with his hands in his pockets, his white sash swaying in the air behind him. Collecting his drifting thoughts, he focused on his own job: chakra control.

Naruto never really thought of his chakra level as a bad thing; rather, even now, he was thankful for his reserves which would allow him to become a Ninjutsu Juggernaut - something that he was slowly becoming ever since the situation with Mizuki. Furthermore, with his position as the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, his level of chakra was near infinity.

If he could harness this power, he would become an absolute _monster_ of Ninjutsu; Naruto smiled, that actually had a pretty nice ring to it. When he made his name in the world, maybe he'd get a pretty badass title like _The Natural Disaster_ or the _Orange Storm._

Of course, this was only a scenario that could become reality if he managed to increase his chakra control; otherwise, he could kiss all those badass Jutsus good bye. All the chakra in the world won't do you any good if you don't have control over it - so, all Naruto had to do was increase his Chakra control.

Needless to say, that was much easier said than done. Fortunately, considering how he had no chakra control right now, he'd be able to see results faster than others with smaller chakra reserves.

Of course, that in itself lies his problem: He didn't know any exercises to control his chakra.

" _Curses!"_ Naruto thought, furrowing his brow in thought, " _I know Iruka-sensei said something about this a long time ago, but what was it?"_

Unknowingly to Naruto, a cute pout found its way on his face as he struggled to remember what Iruka said all those years ago. If any woman saw him how, they would undoubtedly smash him into their bosom, regardless of the fact that he was the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki.

Then leaves swirled before Naruto in a frenzy dance; surprising Naruto, himself, as a familiar feeling struck him, the vertigo making his head spin as he brought in the familiar sight. He couldn't help but find that the world seemed to favor him as an ever stronger breeze roared in anger.

Blinking in surprise, Naruto watched with an unfocused expression - showing that while he was watching the display before him, his mind was focused somewhere else - as more leaves were ripped off the branches where it rested and danced around him in a whirlwind.

Suddenly a memory struck him; coincidentally, it was at the same moment the wind stopped its wrathful roars. Blue eyes sharpening, Naruto snapped in realization, "The Leaf Concentration exercise!"

Kushina smiled; she wanted to help Naruto, not baby him. The knowledge was already in his mind, he simply had to remember; she didn't want him to rely on her for everything until he couldn't do anything for himself...Even if that sounded strangely hot.

She slapped herself, " _Bad thoughts. Bad thoughts."_

She'd give him tips and maybe even some exercises to show that people _would_ help him, but she wouldn't hold his hand and walk him through it. Right now, he had all the pieces in his hand, he could only progress through hard work - which was something that defined Naruto to his core.

The flame in his eyes as he remembered the exercise sent shivers down her spine; so much drive, greater than even _him._

Kushina blinked; who was _him?_ It was just another piece to add to the puzzle that was herself, something that she'd solve no matter what.

" _You know...The theory of my soul being trapped in his Chakra Chains - I think I believe it now."_ She felt her chakra draining as it battled something unknown; her eyes narrowed, " _And they certainly don't seem to like me…"_

Suddenly feeling rather tired, she decided to leave Naruto to it.

" _Good luck, Master."_

Kushina wasn't lying when she said there was a flame in Naruto's eyes; figuratively, of course. As memories raced through his mind, Naruto found that he remembered the leaf concentration exercise; Iruka-sensei stated that to control your chakra you had to send chakra to the leaf - the focal point - and stick it to your skin which was strange in and of itself, almost as if chakra had adhesive properties.

Shaking his head at the mystery that was chakra, a determined smile made its way onto his lips. It was time to go wild! It was an easy matter to find a leaf since the sudden wind knocked down a whole set and picking up a leaf and placing it on his forehead was just as trivial.

It was _here_ that it got complicated.

Holding the leaf onto his forehead with a single finger, Naruto closed his eyes and drew at his chakra; finding it frightfully hard to pull at his chakra in a way that didn't completely overflow his focal point with energy.

Assuming that the amount was enough, he let go of his finger, only to watch the leaf _burn_ and blast away as if a tornado was in the area.

Naruto sweat dropped, " _So too much chakra and it gets blown away…and burnt."_

So he lessened the flow immensely, a mere trickle of chakra heading towards his forehead from the second leaf he attached to his forehead. Unfortunately, it's result was just as bad as the first, just the polar opposite. Instead of being blown away once he lifted his finger, the leaf simply slipped off of his forehead.

Narrowing his eyes, " _Too little chakra and it slips right off, too much chakra and it's sent flying. That means I have to get the perfect amount to attach it to my head."_ A determined glint appeared in his eyes as a laugh bubbled in his throat, " _For someone like me - a person who can either do too little or too much - it's pretty much the worst thing I could ever be stuck with."_ Naruto remembered all his failed attempts at the _Bunshin no Jutsu_ \- something he didn't need anymore thanks to the _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ \- but, in a way, just as valuable. " _I can use the Bunshin no Jutsu as a test of maybe even a checkpoint after I start increasing my ability to control my chakra…"_

Shaking his head, his blue eyes glowed in concentration, a task burning itself in his mind, "Let's do this, dattebayo."

 **XxMaelstromxX**

 _Clone One_

" _ **Onmyoton: Kensetsu!" (Yin-Yang Release: Construction!)**_

 _The theory for his technique was rather simple: channel his energy into a certain area and construct an object made out of chakra utilizing Yin-Yang Release. Calling it 'Construction' was the right word for this technique - even if it did sound admittedly plain._

 _The clone gritted his teeth as he moved into the stance for his next technique: his sword. He exhaled and inhaled at a tempo only known to him, ignoring the sounds given off by his other clones as he extended his right leg and held his left leg back; left arm aligned with his left leg and his hand placed at his hip. Within Naruto's wild imagination, it appeared almost like the sheath of a sword. His right fist was placed upon his left hand's open palm, holding against each other tightly, not a gap in between them._

 _He breathed in slowly, his eyes clenched shut from the effort of channeling the unique chakra release of Yin-Yang towards his hands. Naruto subconsciously counted the seconds as they passed by while he concentrated on continuously producing pure Yin-Yang Chakra. Suddenly his sharp blue eyes opened, glowing blue with energy._

 _Immediately four chakra spikes jutted out in between where his two hands were locked into an embrace, appearing almost like a shuriken within his hands._

 _Naruto whispered as he slowly moved his hand upwards, "_ _ **Onmyoton: Ama no Murakumo**_ _ **(Yin-Yang Release: Sword of the Gathering Clouds of Heaven)."**_

 _As Naruto's hand raised, a blue beam of chakra followed its path, appearing almost like a sword being drawn out of its sheath. Suddenly, with a huge exhalation signifying the last surge of effort, Naruto ripped his hand forward and towards a tree that laid a couple feet away from him. His hand blurred forward, it wouldn't reach the tree, but he didn't need for his own body to reach._

 _The blue arc that went ahead of him did it for him._

 _His sword sliced through the tree like it wasn't even there, leaving a blue trail of chakra as it passed through with a terrifyingly clean cut. The clone panted slightly as he looked at his work with a frown; his surroundings were covered with trees cut down from its roots. The cause laying In his hands - the sword made out of Yin-Yang._

 _Naruto cursed in frustration, letting his blade disperse into the air as his foot slammed into the ground._

 _Unfortunately, Clone One wasn't making nearly as much progress as the original was in his own task - building up the speed to utilize his Chakra Construct._

" _Fuck," The clone growled out, glaring at his hands, "Three minutes and twenty three seconds!"_

 _Naruto's original time was three minutes and forty one seconds; the clone managed to cut it down by eighteen seconds within the time of an hour in a half through constant repetition._

 _But still..._

 _Naruto snarled; it was moving too slow for his liking. He barely cut down the time at all and within the last half an hour, his time was moving back and forth - from the twenty three seconds back to the thirty one second mark._

 _It was driving him insane; it felt like he was making no progress at all, even if he usually made it faster than normal. He should be happy, in fact; this was the fastest he's done it yet._

 _But he wasn't. He wasn't happy at all._

 _He panted slightly, wiping off the sweat on his furrowed brow, before questioning himself, "Why is this taking so long?"_

 _Deep inside, he already knew the answer; it was the answer to all of his Ninjutsu problems since he started the academy._

 _He lacked the control alongside of the ability to completely change his chakra into pure Yin-Yang - two things that his brothers were currently working on._

 _Gritting his teeth, Naruto's raised from his slouched position and made the ram seal; his body once again searching for the Yin-Yang Chakra in his body and doing his best to control his rebellious energy._

 _Not once did the determined glint in his eyes disappear; Naruto Uzumaki wasn't that weak._

 _Naruto didn't care if he didn't have the chakra control right now; he'd make Yin-Yang Release his bitch through pure repetition until he could create constructs within a second!_

 _And so went for another hellish repetition, uncaring of the constant destruction and recreation of his tenketsu._

 **XxMaelstromxX**

 _Clone Two_

 _It hurt. It hurt everywhere._

 _Naruto panted on the ground; his body aching as he pondered what just happened, but even that was hard. He couldn't bring himself to think of anything without having a searing headache rear its ugly head._

 _So he simply laid there and panted._

 _His tenketsu burned; Naruto had no doubt that his hands had the worst experience by far - judging by his skin's charred appearance and the realization that he couldn't bring chakra in or out of his tenketsu anymore. He stifled a groan of pain as the Kyuubi began to work its magic; you would think it would feel good, having your charred remains slowly gather together and heal slowly._

 _It was not a pleasant experience in any way._

 _His tenketsu over all of his body was injured in someway or another, no matter how slight, that wasn't much of a problem, it would heal relatively fast; unfortunately, his hands were another case altogether. His tenketsu literally bursted._

 _Popped like a balloon, blood flowing from his hands due to his idiotic mistake and visible chakra exploding outwards. He had no doubt he looked like a hideous monster right now; his top - consisting of a jacket and long sleeved black shirt - were burned straight off of his body, his hands were charcoal, and his body was red from the overflow of chakra to his tenketsu._

 _Needless to say, Clone #2 had it the worst out of the four blonde haired troublemakers._

 _Returning back to the topic at hand, he looked like absolute shit; the pain caused by the healing of his body from the Kyuubi's chakra didn't help the pain one bit. Like he said before, having the charred remains of your hands recover at an extraordinary rate didn't feel good._

 _It hurt like hell._

 _It felt like a hundred thousand needles were being stabbed into him while he bathed in fire; that was the feeling of his Tenketsu being put back together. It seemed the Kyuubi's chakra relayed its energy to the most destructive wounds since his other injuries weren't being healed; Naruto didn't think he could take anymore pain._

 _How long has he been lying here? A half hour? Maybe an hour?_

 _If he could see his reflection right now or was even capable of moving his body, he would've noted that his eyes were a crimson red with black slits and that their was red chakra enveloping his hands, increasing his healing rate a hundred fold; fortunately(?), he couldn't move a muscle during this time without his vision turning black in pain._

 _Thankfully, the stabbing sensation in his hands disappeared, leaving only his painful groans behind with tears of frustration streaming down his face._

 _He knew he was a clone, but dying was terrifying either way. Naruto didn't want to die just yet, he was a given a job that he wanted to complete. Fortunately for the clone, less clones meant more resilience for the few that were created; but, even so, he got extremely lucky._

" _One of these days," Naruto spoke. "I really have to thank Kyuubi. He's a serious bro."_

 _Shaking his head, he immediately grimaced at that small action. It seems that his other tenketsu was slowly recovering, thankfully it only took a couple more minutes before his skin regained its tanned complexion._

 _Naruto sighed in relief before slowly making his way up, ignoring the pins and needles flowing throughout his skin at the reconnection of his nervous system._

 _A grin came upon his face._

 _He could move again. That meant he could train again._

 _His grin faded as a frown took its place, his mind lost in thought, "...That was absolutely retarded of me. Because of that I wasted an hour of training."_

 _Naruto recalled his memories and groaned to himself; why must he be an idiot? His job was similar to his brother - Clone #1 - in the case that his task revolved around Chakra Construction as well._

 _Unlike Clone One, he was rather impatient - a trait he inherited from his creator. He was tasked with the job of making a barrier, and, sure, he had some thoughts on how to go about it, but it seemed so slow!_

 _But, nonetheless, he did what his creator ordered._

 _It was a task of slowly enveloping his hand with Yin-Yang chakra and shaping it into a small circle. The first hour of training was slow, but it_ _ **did**_ _breed results._

 _Something the clone couldn't say when he tried his own ideas. The boss was going to kill him for wasting an hour of work._

 _Anyways, by the end of the hour, the clone was capable of creating a small circle of golden-purple chakra that enveloped the entirety of his hands - which was strange in and of itself; since when was chakra so weird looking? Sure, most people couldn't make their chakra visible, but when they did, it always came out as blue. Moving on, he managed to force that chakra outwards and create a small barrier that covered his hands._

 _That was a lot of progress for a technique he just started that day, but this was Naruto we were talking about._

 _And he wasn't happy; no, he was pissed. After two hours of work, all he managed to create was a tiny barrier that could stop pencils from hitting him?_

 _And this is where it became bad. He_ _ **really**_ _should've followed the creator's instructions rather than going off on his own tangent. The clone didn't like the progress he was getting and did the first thing he thought of; shove shit loads of chakra into it and made the barrier bigger._

 _It kind of made sense; perhaps, the reason that it was so small was because he wasn't putting more chakra into it? Unfortunately, he knew that his logic was faulty. He knew why he was supposed to start small and easy; it was for control. The more chakra that was added, the less control Naruto had over the construct._

 _Then it became ugly._

 _Almost immediately, chakra exploded in his face and destroyed his hands, burning off his clothes and destroying his tenketsu until he was a bleeding, ugly mess._

 _That was where he was until a minute ago._

 _Now he was standing up and rubbing the back of his head sheepishly._

" _Boss...Is going to kill me."_

 _The clone shook his head roughly; no, he wouldn't shove bananas into his mouth as long as he made a lot of progress right now!_

 _And so Clone #2 went back at it with a determination that shined just as brightly as the first clone._

 **XxMalestromxX**

 _Clone Three_

 _Surprisingly enough, the clone's bitch - aka: Clone #3 - was having the easiest time right now. Progressing faster than clone #1, following the rules of his creator doubtlessly unlike clone #2, and possessing the fire that all of the blondes' possessed._

 _Honestly, he should probably be the real Naruto since he was probably the best out of all of them._

 _And that's why the other clones hated him._

 _He was a total dick. And their bitch._

 _Nonetheless, he worked as hard as his fellow brothers and was progressing at a surprisingly fast rate. It's been four hours since their training began and the result showed brightly; his eyes closed in concentration, he could feel the Yin Chakra flowing out of his body, enveloping him in its warm embrace._

 _The power was surprising easy to control for reasons he couldn't understand, almost as if it was made for him to use. He could feel it flowing out of him, licking his skin and fluttering him with kisses as it slid around his skin._

 _He opened his originally cerulean blue eyes and smiled; if anyone saw him at that moment, their eyes would've widened in shock. Gone were the full blues eyes that he possessed previously, now his eyes were in a strange shape._

 _His right eye - while still half blue - was painted half white, a small black dot sitting near the end of the whiteness. Anyone would recognize the strange symbol in his eyes; it was the symbol of the Yin and Yang. Meanwhile, his left eye was very similar in appearance; like his right eye, it was half blue, but instead of white with black dot, it was the inverse of that color: black with a white dot._

 _These were the eyes of Yin and Yang - not that Naruto would know that right now, even if he was using it._

 _Naruto glanced down at his body, smiling at what he saw; there, sitting upon his left and right hand, was a familiar sight. The smokey black substance that enveloped his left hand and the white substance that made the air waver around it enveloping his right._

 _Yin and Yang Chakra._

 _Naruto couldn't help but find that it was easy to use; sure, the first hour was a bit rough, but, suddenly, everything somehow clicked for him after a thought popped up into his mind - causing him to shudder at the dark laughter_ _ **he**_ _left as it departed._

" _Light and Darkness - we understand that well don't we."_

 _And then he could just summon the chakra out at will._

 _Naruto didn't know why he thought that nor did he know what he meant by it, but that voice was unmistakingly his._

 _Naruto's brow furrowed; he should be happy at accessing his chakra so quickly, but he felt so confused, so cold, so...Wary._

 _Almost as if using this chakra was a bad idea…_

 _The clone shook his head at his weird thoughts._

 _He did it._

 _Uzumaki Naruto grinned; he could use Yin-Yang Chakra now...Which means he could probably use that Jutsu and probably do that other exercise._

 _Letting go of the chakra he was feeling, he watched as the two chakras dispersed into the air before picking up two leaves off the ground. Holding them in between his ring and index finger, Naruto concentrated._

 _And watched as the first leaf was turned into darkness while the other was crumpled and turned into particles._

 _Naruto knew it shouldn't have been this easy; he shouldn't have been able to understand this chakra like the back of his hand._

 _But he did._

" _Light and darkness…"_

 _It was a poison. Slow. Deadly. Injected by a snake that wrapped around his body and sunk it's teeth into his neck. A poison that was slowly spreading through his body, contaminating his body and soul. A poison that depended on the human's will; will he destroy the venom or will he let himself be engulfed? Unfortunately for Naruto, the seed was already sowed...and it wasn't leaving anytime soon._

 **XxMaelstromxX**

Hours slipped by, day turned into night, the sun replaced the moon while darkness consumed the light; the shadows reared its ugly head during such times, bringing out night crawlers and scum as their shadows bloomed in the darkness. Children were always told not to go out in the dark; while this wasn't as much of a problem in a Shinobi village, it didn't mean all of Konoha was safe.

Such a thought would be foolish in a world that found killing acceptable.

Certain districts became even more hellish with the addition of the night, humans becoming more confident under the safe blanket of the shadows. It was a nightmare, an unexplainable - but almost acceptable - time for sin. It was everywhere, small in some areas while larger in others, but it could be found in every human that lived, within every nook and cranny of the world; yet, in a small clearing within a forest, a blonde haired boy paid no attention to this fact or, perhaps, it would be more astute to say he didn't care.

He made darkness his bitch long ago.

It was true; no one _dared_ to look at him during the night. If the dark was a time to let loose for humans, what could a _demon_ do during the comfort of the darkness?

Fear laid within their eyes as they took in his form even as a child - especially after he sent some thugs running when they foolishly tried to fight him, but that was a story for another time. Now, was a story of a young boy who were making the leaves his bitches.

The blonde was illuminated by the moonlight, his hair gaining a lustrous shine as the light embraced his blonde locks, changing the sun blonde to an elusive silver. His cerulean eyes would've shown the color of silver as well if his eyes weren't closed; shut tightly at first to encourage concentration, but now they were relaxed and loose alongside of his entire body. Not a single part of his body was tense as he sat in a meditative stance, sitting undisturbed even by the noises brought from his clones. He looked almost graceful in appearance with his hair gently flowing from side to side and his arms laid out to the side.

Appearances were _always_ deceiving though.

From his gentle, relaxed outlook, no one could imagine the struggle he was going through to bring chains upon his own chakra.

If one would take a closer look, they would notice a leaf stuck onto the blonde's forehead, glued upon his forehead without any sign of being held up by the Jinchuuriki's finger. If one would take an even _closer_ look, they would've noticed the discarded jacket and long sleeved black shirt sitting beside him.

And if they looked even _closer,_ they would've noticed the leaves that were adorned across his entire body. Running across his arms in a line were a row of leaves, stuck to his skin as if they were glued on; sitting comfortable on the posterior side of his hand, resting upon his forearms and elbows, and resting upon his biceps and shoulders. His chest wasn't spared either, leaves were glued onto his rippled body, sitting on his abs and pecks like freckles.

Counting up all of the leaves, including the one adorned on his forehead and the ones placed on his back, made for a total count of 30 leaves; a surprising increase from the original one he started with hours ago.

It was a surprise for Naruto as well to find that the Leaf Concentration Exercise was so easy - completing the task minutes within the exercise -but, then again, it was meant for fresh-as-grass Academy Students that just started the academy, not for Genin who graduated the academy, no matter how _terrible_ said Genin was.

That didn't mean Naruto simply stopped though; finding the exercise was too easy, he made a simple assumption: more numbers equals more control. He quickly attached leaf after leaf to his body, summoning a clone to layer his back with leaves before dismissing it.

That took a much longer time to get used to; maybe, two hours to get it to the point that he could hold if for a half hour with ease. When Naruto found that it was getting too easy once again, he took another action to increase the difficulty of the once-simple Academy exercise.

Arms held out in a straight 90 degree angle, he looked almost like an airplane; fortunately, he was by himself and it was too dark for anyone, including himself, to see the ridiculous position he was in. Placed upon his palms were rocks the size of three bowling ball and, like the leaves, they were stuck to his adhesive-like chakra, facing downwards at the ground

This was a lot more difficult than its predecessors - especially, since he still had thirty leaves attached to the entirety of his body. These miniature boulders not only forced him to increase the chakra sent to his hands while keeping a different amount of chakra directed to thirty other positions simultaneously, but also tested his physical strength of holding out his arms with the pressure of gravity and the weight of the boulders in his hands.

While the weight wasn't troubling to the blonde - even if it was starting to strain him after two hours - the effort to consistently contain 32 levels of chakra being sent to different parts of his body made this hellish for Naruto.

His face was lined with sweat, dripping slowly down his chin to the chest beneath, following the marked defintion down his chiseled chest and trailing down the line of his six pack abs. It would've made for a mouth watering sight for any girl in the area; thankfully, there were none here...Besides a playful redhead that was thankfully sleeping right now.

Although, the cute snores echoing in his head didn't fucking help.

His breaths were labored as he forcefully strained his body more and more; hours of this was really taking its toll on Naruto's infamous stamina. The constant redirection of his Chakra to so many different places was as exhausting mentally as it was physically.

Finally, he counted two hours and let his arms fall to the ground, boulders dropping - cracking the ground all the while - while the leaves fell off his body and swayed to the ground.

Breathing in deeply, Naruto's cerulean blue eyes glowed silver as he stared at the full moon before him. He was absolutely exhausted; never had he been so envious of people with smaller chakra reserves.

Seriously, doing chakra control exercises with massive reserves was no walk in the park.

But he _did_ make progress.

He could feel it, his control did get better; well, as better as it could get in a day, but still! If the next three weeks continued like this, he was sure his chakra control would improve by leaps and bounds!

Naruto grinned tiredly, " _Just look. I can stick the leaves so quickly to my hands now. That has to say something about my chakra control right? I couldn't do this before!"_

Trying to prove his own point, his hand moved down towards the ground, intent on sticking his hand on to the leave lying upon the earth. Unfortunately, he sneezed, missing the leave and, instead, landing on the ground.

Naruto laughed sheepishly as he pulled his arm up, an eyebrow raising as he met resistance. _What the hell?_ Attempting again, Naruto realised something - he never cut off the chakra supply to his hand; no, it was on the other spectrum in fact! The moment he sneezed, the chakra directed to his hand was increased.

Furrowing his brow, Naruto realised why he was meeting resistance in his attempts to remove his hand from the ground.

It was the Leaf Concentration Exercise except he was doing it to the ground instead.

An ingenious idea struck Naruto's mind as he released the chakra enveloping his hand, a devious grin making its way on his face, " _I'm fucking brilliant! Why use leaves? Who said it had to be leaves or stones? There's a completely different way to use this exercise."_

He looked at the tree beside him, a Cheshire Cat grin making its way upon his face before he looked at his other clones. From what he could see, they were struggling with their individual tasks, but trying their hardest nonetheless.

It felt kind of weird to be proud of his own clones.

Shaking his head, Naruto realised something, " _The reason they're struggling is due to my chakra control...Right now, my biggest problem isn't Taijutsu, it's my chakra control. If I want to be a Ninjutsu Master, I need to have good chakra control - well, at least decent enough to use techniques. Trying to develop and further my own techniques would take too long with terrible chakra control which means I should deal with that first…"_

Grinning at the idea in his mind, Naruto created a clone and destroyed it, sending the information to his other clones and watched as grins made it way to their face as well - his experience transferred to them.

The original and the clones winked at each other before turning towards a tree, hands raised as if a battle was about to take place; the strange thing was that their hands weren't in fists, no they were opened and extended like paper in 'Rock, Paper, Scissors.'

Suddenly a light blue glow surrounded their hands.

And then the four blondes sped towards their respective trees.

 **XxMaelstromxX**

 **And that's the end of the fourth chapter! How'd you like it? I never grammar check any of my chapters so forgive the few mistakes that are in the chapters. I, actually, don't have a lot to say right now since I spoke most of my thoughts at the pre-chapter author note. If any of you skipped it, I strongly suggest you turn back and read it!**

 **Well...Review, follow, and favorite lol?**

 **I'll be doing my best to pump out as many chapters as I can before college starts up; make sure to feed me with reviews and follows and favorites!**

 **See you next time!**

 **Chakra Control**

 _For anyone who thinks Naruto learning the leaf concentration exercise so quickly is strange, here's my thought process. Firstly, from everything I worked out, it's not even meant to be a chakra control exercise but a concentration exercise. Not to mention it's not really comparable to the Tree and Water Walking exercise. For those who understood the meaning of the end, then you'd see Naruto_ _ **wouldn't**_ _be tree climbing with his legs, but his hands. Naruto didn't realize he could do it with his legs yet so he's doing it with his hands for now. Furthermore, the hands are the easiest place for Naruto to channel chakra - which is pretty much paving a path for all the other chakra control exercise in the future once he finishes. Also when Naruto learned the tree walking exercise (Less than a week) his chakra was greater than when it was when he first became a ninja - the_ _ **Shiki Fuijin**_ _takes the Kyuubi's chakra and places it in Naruto' own. Overall, Naruto's chakra is easier to control now (After the Leaf Concentration exercise) than it would be during the Wave Arc. Chakra Control will be a bit easier than it would be for Naruto six months later._

 **[Shameless Advertizing]**

 **Make sure to give "The Fallen Prince" and "Everything Blooms Twice" a try. Don't read my other stories...They're trash. They make me want to kill myself. Fuck. Just don't read it. Trust me.**


	5. Chapter 5: Revelation

**Just a quick author note. I suggest reading it.**

 **This is the second to last chapter of the "Training Arc". Meaning that, after this chapter, the plot picks up dramatically in Chapter Six, and the new arc starts in Chapter Seven. With this coming up, I've decided to upload the last chapter of this arc an exact week from now. Look forward to it!**

 **Maelstrom**

 _ **Chapter Five**_

 _Revelation_

 _The Next Day_

Kushina wasn't quite sure what to make out of what she was seeing; it was humorous rather than anomalous, but, either way, it was still as strange as it was admirable. It's not everyday that you find a young boy doing such spartan exercises on a tree, after all.

Even if the exercise he was trying to do was wrong, it was an impressive imitation nonetheless; actually, imitation wasn't quite the right word. He took the Academy's Leaf Concentration Exercise and made it his bitch, appearing similar to the chakra exercise that happened to be the next stage of chakra control; although, it was most certainly more hard core than the "original".

Naruto was sweating uncontrollably - giving his blonde hair a lustrous shine that sparked an image, a memory perhaps, that made Kushina have trouble with the necessary act of breathing.

An image of an older blonde.

Maybe it had to do with the blonde hair?

Shaking her head, Kushina eyed the blonde in front of her. She knew that he's been training since he was an infant, but, _seriously_ , it should be illegal for a kid to be this ripped so young, any woman would try to sink their teeth into him now with thoughts of how he would look later. Those thoughts made her uncomfortably hot from both anger and...Her face flushed brighter.

" _Bad Kushina!"_

Shaking her head from her unearthly thoughts, Kushina focused her vision back onto Naruto and to the exercise he was currently doing. His breathing was labored, signifying how taxing this exercise was being for him - which wasn't really a surprise seeing how he'd been at it for hours already.

His stamina was other worldly.

" _Must be a monster in bed."_ Kushina blinked before glaring into the celestial world around her, " _...I'm not afraid to beat myself up, dattebane! Bring it! I'll kick your ass!"_

Unfortunately, you can't destroy something that isn't tangible.

Groaning in annoyance, she focused her vision on Naruto again and, no matter how hard she tried, surprise still lingered there - not for his form, but the progress he managed to make with this exercise in just a single day.

The amount of potential he had was _insane_.

He hung in the air from a branch high up in a tree; that wouldn't have been anything special if he was just _hanging_ up there.

No, it was the way he was doing it.

The index and ring finger of each hand were stuck to the backside of the branch, not gripping it in anyway, simply _touching_ it and hanging there. It would've been seen as an impossibility in any other world, but this wasn't any other world.

With chakra, anything was possible.

Even sticking to a branch with two fingers while the rest of his body dangled dangerously below him; Kushina shook her head in disbelief, how did Naruto even think of this?

Oh, it didn't stop there. Naruto went way more hard core than that; using his fingers as a medium, he lifted his body with pure physical strength to do pull-ups, struggling with every single one. After hours of this, he was starting to feel _extremely_ weak, the miniature Boulder - about the width of Naruto's body and weighing about his weight - that was stuck to his back through his adhesive-like chakra wasn't helping matters at all.

If Naruto didn't train his body to the point of unconsciousness for the past years, he would be lying dead right now; but he did, defying all odds and using his body to increase his chakra control in the most dangerous fashion ever.

Kushina blinked; how did she not notice this earlier? She was with him all of last night...Except for that time when she fell asleep. She giggled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head similar to a familiar blonde haired troublemaker. Straining her ears, she smiled when she heard numbers coming out of his mouth in the sound of growls, it seemed that he was counting how many he was doing - straining his mental capabilities (Using your mind through physical exhaustion and hours of exercise is not easy), physical capabilities, and spiritual capabilities, all at the same time to increase them.

Ears twitching, she heard the sounds of grunts coming from more than one body. Kushina turned her head, taking in more of the field that laid around Naruto and blinked in surprise.

It seemed it wasn't just one Naruto that was doing the exercise, all three clones were doing so as well. Kushina smiled happily, a warm feeling of pride swelling up in her chest as she watched all the clones do the same activity, straining themselves beyond belief; it seems Naruto figured it out.

All the Ninjutsu in the world won't help you without Chakra Control; he seemed to figure this out and told all of his clones to work on this instead of what they were doing before.

" _That means he gets a reward! A better chakra control exercise!"_

Grinning to herself, Kushina spoke out, " _Master! Good Morning! Good News-"_

She cut herself off as Naruto - not just one Naruto, but all of the blondes - stopped working in shock, their concentration slipping and forced to stop their exercise. That wouldn't have been a problem if they weren't a couple hundred feet in the air.

Their curses fell all the way through the sky until they smashed into the ground, three poofs of smoke going into the air while a single Naruto lied their unconscious - if not from the fall then from the memories of the clones that he hadn't dismissed since he started training yesterday evening.

Kushina scratched her cheek nervously, " _Whoops?"_

 **XxMaelstromxX**

 _It was that cloudy feeling again, a sense that everything would be alright and a warmth that embraced his body as much as it did his heart. He felt this before, smelled it before; but he couldn't bring himself to say anything or even get up._

 _Once again, he was just that damn comfortable._

 _This sensation, these feelings that were born from it; could he ever grow tired of it? His mind couldn't even process such a thought; Naruto couldn't imagine a parallel world where he'd never not love the feeling of fingers slowly running through his hair, soft hands gently running down his face in a way that could only be defined as lovingly - not that Naruto knew this; he had no experience with such a thing after all._

 _He sighed contently, forgetting all of the thoughts that were on his mind beforehand: his weakness, his training, his death as he smashed into the ground._

 _Naruto blinked, opening his eyes at a result; one of those thoughts that he listed were not like the other. Quickly shutting his eyes to please it's request of darkness and rid the light that converged upon them, he pondered his other thoughts as his eyes slowly adjusted to the light._

 _Wait a fucking minute._

 _Eyes opening in outrage, he glared at the sheepish smile of the woman whose lap he was lying on, "Kushina!" Naruto complained, "Do you know how terribly that hurt! Not just my body hitting the ground, but the experiences my clones had as they went poof!"_

 _Grasping his body when he expected the pain to come...Only that it didn't. Blinking in surprise, he looked into Kushina's amused violet eyes, "It...Doesn't hurt? Why doesn't it hurt?"_

 _Kushina response was immediate, "You probably experienced something similar before right?"_

 _Furrowing his brow cutely - something that made Kushina smile, continuing her gentle ministrations with a stronger vigor - Naruto recalled something that was similar to his current situation, "The first time I came here, nearing the end...I was exhausted and my chakra reserves were weak, but when I woke up in the other dimension, I was fine…"_

" _Ding, Ding! That's correct!" Kushina cheered, poking his nose with her finger - an action that flustered Naruto and brought an amused smile back onto the red head's face; she would never get tired of Naruto's reactions, they were just so damn cute._

 _Leaning forward, Kushina continued her explanation; not noticing how Naruto's eyes widened when his face was covered by her breasts, hiding her face from his curious blue eyes, not noticing how his eyes were dragged - against his will, he might add - to her chest as they moved up and down as she inhaled and exhaled in an enticing manner. She never noticed his entranced eyes as he took in her entire form without fail, searing her smile, her face, her_ _ **everything**_ _into his mind._

 _His heart was racing. What was this feeling._

 _He knew one thing for sure, though, "Kushina...Is beautiful."_

 _Thankfully, he thought that instead of actually speaking it; he didn't know if he'd be able to deal with the embarrassment those words would invoke with him - ignoring the part of himself that wanted to see the reaction of the woman who had become his most precious person._

 _He flustered at the thought; was he really that easy? Two days; all it took was two days for her to find herself at the very top of his heart. Was a bit of attention, someone to talk to, all it was that made her precious to him? Could anyone have taken her place if they had spoken to him first._

 _Naruto found the thought preposterous; the mere thought making him sick. No, Kushina was special. Their silly conversations, her words, her playfully warm personality, her_ _ **everything;**_ _it was like they were opposite charges, he couldn't understand - he didn't want to understand - his unstoppable attraction to her. No one made him feel like she did, no one managed to invoke such feelings in a single sentence._

 _These feelings; he clenched his heart._

 _He never wanted them to go away...He wanted Kushina to always be with him._

 _Why were these thoughts running through his mind right now? Didn't he hear her voice all the time; why was he thinking this now? Was it because of that nagging thought eating away at the back of his mind or was it because he was seeing her once again; now that he thought of it, this was the second time he's seen her._

 _She was absolutely stunning._

 _He couldn't even pay attention to the explanation that he, himself, asked for; maybe that's why he received a flick to his forehead._

 _Narrowing her eyes and puffing her cheeks out in annoyance, she crossed her arms under her chest and pouted at him, "Really, Master? Asking me for an explanation and not even listening…"_

 _Her reactions…_

 _Kushina trailed off after noticing his entranced resting on her face, stopping her breath and making her heart race._

 _What was with that look? Why were his eyes staring at her like that?_

 _Why did she feel so warm?_

 _She couldn't understand it, she didn't think she'd ever would; how could this child - a boy she knew for two days - evoke such emotions within her._

 _But she didn't want it to stop._

 _Even if she felt it…That her time with her most precious Master was limited. Shaking her head mentally, she tried to put up a determined facade; it wouldn't do for her to depress Naruto._

 _She couldn't let him find out; it'd only hurt him. She knew from the moment she felt strangely exhausted yesterday for no apparent reason; Kushina was not his creation - even if it was well within his capabilities - she was simply a soul trapped within his chakra chains._

 _And those chains were slowly pushing her out._

 _Her chakra tried to fight it, of course; but that could only last for so long. She was already feeling the signs of strain on her body, the sudden exhaustion that appeared being one of the symptoms._

 _She had six months at most, possibly seven months depending on the amount of chakra she saved, but Kushina knew that her passing was inevitable._

 _She wasn't meant to be here._

 _She wasn't meant to hold Naruto in her arms like this._

 _She wasn't supposed to be the one to comfort him when he was crying._

 _She wasn't the one who was going to stand by his side as he became greater and greater._

 _The only thing she_ _ **could**_ _do is give him the best memories of his life during this precious time - however brief it might be. Kushina would always be by his side, never leaving him for as long as she was here._

 _She couldn't tell him, she couldn't burden him._

 _But her body betrayed her._

 _She froze at the feeling of a hand touching her cheek, a thumb wiping away a tear that was streaming down her face. Concerned blue eyes looked up at her and, suddenly, they wouldn't stop falling._

 _Emotions - both from the past she couldn't recall, the present that she couldn't understand, and the future that held more strenuous feelings to come - overtook her causing her tears to become like a stream down her face._

 _Two days._

 _That was all it took for an unbreakable bond to be forged between the two; talks ran through her mind - her all night chats with Naruto who, even though he was sleepy, refused to fall to the warm embrace of slumber; instead, he talked to her sleepless soul. Warm words, getting to know each other; two days filled with nothing but the other._

 _Two days filled with absolute adoration for the other._

 _They didn't leave each other alone for a moment, learning as many things as they could from the other._

" _I-I want to learn more things about you."_

 _Kushina's tears dropped onto Naruto's face._

" _I want to be able to stay by your side night by night."_

 _Kushina's soft sobs broke the area's silence._

" _I want to see you smile at me! I want to be there to say 'Good Morning' every time you wake up." Her words came out faster and faster, "I want to have more late night talks! I want to see you become a great ninja! I want to help you in every way I kind! I want to be there when you become Hokage! I want to learn everything about you!" Her tears were endless and she couldn't stop herself from saying her last words, "I don't want to disappear!"_

 _And, suddenly, her form was enveloped by the defined arms of Naruto. Tightly holding her in his arms, letting her cry into his chest, Naruto simply whispered, "Then don't. Stay with me."_

 _He couldn't understand what was happening, all he knew was that he had a connection - formed but two days ago; yet, it was already so strong and powerful._

 _Was it even possible to build a bond like this in two days? Perhaps it was because he was as emotionlessly starved as he was that it was possible._

 _But, nonetheless, he was attached to the woman in more ways than one; if it meant going through hell to keep her by his side then he'd do it._

 _This bond, these feelings - he'd do anything to keep them in his heart._

" _I don't know what's troubling you, but, whatever it is, we'll deal with it together. I...Know we don't really know each other very well, but…" He scratched his cheek shyly, "Two days isn't much to get to know each other…But an entire lifetime seems great to me. Talking to you all night, making jokes; hell, even your seduction lessons! I like all of that about you! I want to learn everything about you - including your past if you ever remember it, but, even if you don't, I want to be there with you to make new memories! I want to learn how you tick, what makes you smile - absolutely everything."_

 _Holding her tightly against him, "So...Stay with me. Don't disappear. We'll do it together. I promise."_

 _It made no sense to either of them, but these feelings ran unrestrained through their bodies; who would've thought two days would be enough to make such a strong bond. Sometimes, though, a moment is all it takes to make an unbreakable friendship._

 _This was the moment for them as sudden and strange as it may be; they were happy in each other's arms._

 _Moments flashed by until Kushina's tears stopped; although, she still laid against Naruto's sturdy chest. Suddenly, in another rare case of insight, Naruto theorized - proving once again that he was a lot smarter than everyone thought, "...This is about how you're a soul sealed by my chakra chains, isn't it?"_

 _The freezing of Kushina's body in his arms was all the answer he needed to confirm his thoughts, "You're afraid of what's going to happen next, aren't you?"_

 _He felt Kushina nod her head against his chest, "Your chakra chains...I was trapped by them - specifically, by your Yin Chakra Chain - accidentally and now they're trying to push me out, finding me as an anomaly within your chakra. I'd say about six months is all I have before I disappear."_

 _Her violet eyes widened when he heard Naruto laugh, "That's all?" Kushina looked up at him in surprise, gasping at the determination that were brimming in his eyes - his eyes consisting of a strange Yin-Yang pattern, "I was expecting to charge into the afterlife after you to drag you back! Six months is more than enough to find a way to save you!"_

 _Naruto slammed his hand into his chest, his smile blinding, "I, Uzumaki Naruto, vow to you that I will save you! Bring you back into my dimension! Even if I have to kick the Shinigami's ass, I'll do it! That is my promise! And I never break my promises. That is my Nindo, my ninja way."_

 _Kushina knew it was foolish, there was no way he could beat up the Shinigami - the mere thought made her want to giggle - but, nonetheless, she felt her hope rise to unimaginable levels, her heart racing as she took in his dashing figure._

 _Her mouth opened slightly, trying to say a word, but before she could say a word, she was lightly karate chopped on the top of her head._

" _Wha…" Kushina complained cutely, rubbing her head gently._

" _ **That**_ _was for not telling me when you found out!" Naruto huffed, "Really. You probably weren't even going to tell me today. What do you think I would've done if you suddenly left me? My head would be completely empty…" Naruto blinked, "Wait...That's make it sound like I don't think at all. I obviously do! I'm extremely smart."_

 _Kushina giggled, a smile dancing in her eyes, "Hmm...I don't know about that."_

 _Naruto turned his eyes back to Kushina, a complaint at his lips before he was stunned into silence. He felt soft lips against his cheek, it was only for a moment, but it was enough to turn his entire body into jelly. It felt like a thankful kiss - revealing her happiness and some other emotion he couldn't quite identity._

 _He stifled his gasp at the loving violet eyes that were shown to him as she pulled back, a lovely smile on her face that made him stop breathing._

" _I don't know about that...But you're absolutely perfect the way you are, Naruto-kun."_

 _Naruto's eyes widened._

" _Ouh...Wah...Ne...Ghh." Strangled sounds were the only thing that managed to come out of his mouth as his face turned into the brightest red she's ever seen._

 _Suddenly, his vision started to waver and Naruto realised he was starting to leave this dimension._

 _Kushina bit her lip slightly, "It seems I won't be able to answer your question today, Master. But I promise to answer it later today…"_

 _Naruto tried to make out another word. He sounded like a blubbering fish._

 _Kushina smiled sweetly, her words the only thing he could hear as he was sent back into reality, "Thank you."_

 **XxMaelstromxX**

" _Master."_

He struggled to stop himself from squealing like a love-struck girl, but he managed to stop before it came out. Naruto couldn't slow his racing heartbeat nor stop the blood that was flowing to his cheeks; the feeling of her lips against his skin returned and he felt a pleasant shudder down his spine.

" _Master."_

Why couldn't he forget it? It was just a simple kiss; hell, it wasn't even on his lips, but on his cheek! It was nothing more than a way to say her thanks; he's seen people do this all the time in Konoha - actually, he's things a lot dirtier than that.

It was a Shinobi Village after all; Ninja needed a way to lose themselves after a mission - entertainment districts were created for that very purpose; even Naruto knew what that _entertainment_ entailed - he's walked past some districts plenty of times before.

But still.

The phantom touch of her lips lingered upon his cheek, he could still feel the way her soft lips caressed his face in a way that made him feel like pudding.

" _Master."_

The way her violet eyes stared at him in an emotion he couldn't quite identify - even after all those hours he spent with her; literally adding up to days for all the hours he spent in her dimensional void where time didn't pass there, he couldn't place the emotion that glistened within those beautiful violet orbs. Her gentle voice telling him-

" _MASTER! I'm fucking talking to you, dattebane! Don't make me kick your ass!"_ Kushina exclaimed, her eyebrow twitching while her hair waved threatening behind her.

Naruto blinked; gentle voice his ass.

Suddenly, he was capable of pushing his feelings away...for now; twitching at what she said, Naruto exclaimed just as quickly, "What the hell, dattebayo! I'd be the one kicking your ass!"

" _You wouldn't have a chance in hell!"_

"Well, we're not in hell! We're on Earth!"

Kushina simply reaffirmed herself, " _I'd win."_

"Bullshit!"

" _I'd beat you so badly that your own mother wouldn't recognize you!"_

The irony of that statement was lost to both of them.

"Yeah! Well, I'd beat you so bad that your kids wouldn't be able to tell the difference between your face and a tomato! You stupid vegetable!"

" _Blonde bitch!"_

"CHERRY HEAD!" Naruto blinked, "Actually, I like the color of your hair.."

Suddenly, Kushina blushed and she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She didn't know how to explain it - must have something to do with her lost memories - but the feelings that arose within her when someone complimented her hair made her happy.

When the blonde before her complimented her, she felt intoxicated - as strange as it may sound. What kind of woman is she anyways? Getting flustered from a comment given to her by a kid.

But she was.

" _R...Really? Thank you."_

"Like I said before: there's no need to thank me - I'm only being honest." Naruto replied, hands behind his head as he slowly brought himself upwards...

And, suddenly, the phantom pains from his training struck him; perhaps, the reason he didn't feel it before was due to the distraction given to him by Kushina, but, nonetheless, he felt it now and it _hurt._

Naruto was no stranger to pain. It had been his one companion throughout the entirety of his life, they were like old friends. Training accidents, fist fights, the blows he had suffered at the hands of the orphanage workers when he was a defenseless child - it was easy to said that he was familiar with pain.

This pain was different; it was like a phantom, appearing and disappearing all over his body, remembering the pain he suffered again and again, experiencing every sweat that slid down his body to the chakra exhaustion that followed after the exercise.

Needless to say - it hurt.

His body collapsed onto the ground, fire making its way through his veins as his head was repeatedly smashed by a hammer. It _really_ didn't feel good. His mind was racing through the memories of his clones, soaking up their experiences and adding it to his own; blinking in surprise, he felt the phantom pains on his hand.

" _...One of my clones blew up their hands? What the fuck? I can't be that retarded...Can I?"_

Naruto shook his head - instantly regretting it for the pain that followed; it was best not to answer that question. Exhaustion struck him suddenly, feeling the wariness of three clones.

His vision became blurry, black dots spun on the very edge of his vision, threatening his consciousness to the sweet embrace of darkness. Growling defiantly, Naruto glared at the sky; he would _not_ waste an entire day being unconscious - he refused!

But it still hurt.

" _Naruto-kun!"_ Kushina exclaimed worriedly; wishing nothing more than to be able to be out there, to help him, to comfort him.

Once again, the uselessness of her situation struck her; but, this time, she didn't get depressed. Naruto promised her, after all, and Naruto Uzumaki doesn't break his promises.

Naruto chuckled slightly through the pain, earning Kushina's undivided attention as he spoke through his gritted teeth, "It's only in times like this that you call me by my name…"

Kushina blinked; she didn't even notice.

"Even though Master has a nice ring to it," Naruto chuckled, feeling Kushina getting flustered, "I also like it when you call me by my name, Kushina-chan."

Kushina turned her head to the side, muttering shyly, "... _Master no Baka."_

He pouted, "Grant a pained soul one wish."

" _Master is master."_

She was stubborn, he'd give her that. Looks like he had to pull up the big stuff.

"Pretty please with ice cream on top."

Kushina's response was dry, " _Did you actually think I'd do it just because you said it like that?"_

"Oh, sorry!" Realising his mistake, Naruto corrected himself with a smirk that somehow managed to make its way through the phantom pains that were shaking his body, "With a _cherry_ on top!"

It took her a few seconds to understand his correction.

" _I'm going to kick your ass the moment I'm released from here, dattebane."_

Naruto chuckled, "That's pretty _red_ …" Giggling to himself, he edged on her annoyance, "Get it? Red sounds like rad. I'm so funny!"

"..."

"..."

"... _And shove your corny jokes down your throat."_

Naruto simply laughed.

A silly conversation then commenced, filled with witty remarks and laughs; it was a happy moment for the Uzumaki Duo. Fortunately, it also distracted Naruto from the mind numbing pain his body was undertaking from the phantom pain given to him by his clones.

But he never once regretted it. All this pain, all this effort, working day in and day out; he had to work harder than anyone else to reach his goal, to reach his dreams.

For that, he would endure anything.

"Say, Kushina, you've never told me why I didn't feel pain back in your...My…Our dimension. I know I didn't feel any pain when I was there before, but now I feel all of the pain induced by my training." Naruto raised a hand above him, cracking it as the phantom pains disappeared from his body, "Why exactly is that?"

" _Oh yeah! I keep forgetting to tell you why!"_ Kushina exclaimed sheepishly before continuing, " _Well it's because of the fact that they are different dimensions."_

"...And?"

" _And that means you have two separate bodies: one in this realm, the other in mine. Of course, it's not your body that is moving, but your soul - meaning you leave all the pain and exhaustion of your body back in the other realm while your soul remains untarnished by such injuries. That's pretty much it."_

"I see." Naruto responded, rubbing his chin slightly, "And time is at a standstill in whatever dimension I leave, right?"

" _Mhmm. I can't quite understand it myself, but your pocket dimension's time and the realm you are currently in are in a interchangeable lock concerning time. It's strange to me as well…"_ Kushina murmured to herself, her thoughts going off into a tangent.

Naruto smiled slightly, "All that sounds pretty complicated to me, but if time is at a standstill in one area, doesn't that mean I could train in the other while no time passes there?"

Kushina chuckled slightly, " _Doesn't work like that, Master. Two different bodies remember? While you share the same soul, the bodies are separate from each other meaning that training your body in either dimension won't progress the other…Wait that means you won't grow up at all in my dimension since time's at a stand still...AHHH!"_

Naruto shot up onto his feet, ignoring the echo of pain that flickered in his legs from such a sudden moment; he exclaimed quickly, concern dancing in his eyes, "Kushina! Are you alright? What's wrong? What happened."

" _I get it! The realm I'm in and the realm you're in! It all makes sense, dattebane! Yin and Yang!"_ Kushina shook her head, slapping her forehead in disbelief, " _How did I not think of that earlier? I'm stuck in the_ _ **Yin**_ _chain meaning the spiritual side of chakra...The_ _ **spirit**_ _of chakra - in other words the mental soul of a body!"_

Naruto simply blinked in confusion, "Whaa?"

Although, surprisingly enough, Naruto understood **one thing** \- something that he shoved into the back of his mind to think of later.

It'd prove useful in the future - he was sure of it!

" _Sorry, sorry; it's not really that important. It's just that your soul is traveling to your_ _ **Yin Chain's**_ _Dimension which is why your soul is traveling through it rather than your physical body. In the other dimension: you won't be able to grow up or get stronger and transfer your experience through physical training, but you_ _ **can**_ _transfer your mental and spiritual training!"_

"...That means I can train...My understanding of the world…?" Naruto asked curiously, not quite understand the point she was trying to make.

" _No! After you get your feed back from your clone, you can just come into this dimension and sort through your memories since you literally have all the time in the world! The pain from the experience would be lessened greatly when you return and you'll be able to continue training in a faster pace!"_

Naruto blinked; holy _shit!_ That was a lot better than actually going through all that pain over and over again; if he could lessen the pain and adapt his brain again and again like this, his training rate would sky rocket!

"That's so badass!" Then the blonde shook his head in annoyance, "Never mind that! You're missing a crucial point there, Kushina-chan!"

Kushina blinked, " _What do you mean?"_

Naruto sighed, "Y'know for how smart you are, you can be awfully air headed at times."

Kushina's eyebrow twitched, deadpanning, " _I don't want to hear that coming from you!"_

"Don't you get it?" An excited grin grew on Naruto's face, "The reason why you're trapped in my **Yin Chakra Chain** is because you're made out of pure mental energy right now - the soul of your body!" Showing sudden insight that took Kushina by surprise, Naruto proved her wrong, "It's not 'two bodies' that my soul is transferring between, but just a Yin Manifestation of my chakra in that dimension! You know what that sounds like right?"

Kushina blinked before catching on, " _No way…_ "

"Yup!" Grinning, Naruto exclaimed, "There's only a single difference between the two of us - Yang Chakra. All we need to do to bring you out of your chains is to fill in the Yang Chakrayou're currently missing! You're pure Yin right now, but if we manage to give you some Yang Chakra then that means you'll be able to get out of those chains!"

Kushina shook her head in dismay, " _That's a lot easier said than done. Plus that'd require a body and Yang Chakra that matched my own Yin Chakra."_

Naruto's warmth filled laughter set her soul to ease, bringing a smile to her face, "Just let me worry about that! I swore, didn't I? I swore that I'd get you out of there, dattebayo! At least now we know what to do to get you out of there!"

"... _You're sweet, Master."_

Silence reigned through the training field for a few moments before Naruto shook his head - destroying the phantom pains of both the kiss and his training - and hopped onto his feet with a grin on his face, "Time for the Tree Climbing Exercise again! I should probably add more weight this time though...It'll make it harder faster."

" _I know something else that will make_ _ **it**_ _harder faster."_ Kushina's seductive voice ran through his head; combined with the phantom touch of her kiss returning to his mind, it was fruitless to put up a resistance.

Needless to say, Naruto blushed, " _I hate these seduction lessons! I wonder if she's actually doing this for me rather than her own amusement."_

He heard her giggle.

" _Yup...Definitely for her shits and giggles."_

Naruto deadpanned, "Can't hear you. I'm training."

" _Oh! About that! You're doing it wrong! The Tree Walking Excerixe isn't supposed to be done with your hands, but your_ _ **feet!**_ _"_

"...Eh?"

 **XxMaelstromxX**

One Week Later

Naruto learned many things about the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu over this week; mainly, it hurt like a bitch when you dispelled it. He shook his head in discomfort, remembering some rather distasteful memories of last week; it took Naruto an entire day to lose the headache induced from the clones that dispersed last week; of course, that could be said it was due to the unexpected experience gain.

That was definitely the case for when he was annoyed by his progress and decided to step up the amount of clones he could make to five instead of three.

Needless to say, Kushina was _pissed_. He spent three days (That's how long it took to go through the information that would no doubt be destroying his body when he came back) in the celestial void with her and she was giving him the silent treatment.

He absolutely _loathed_ the silence.

Fortunately, Kushina did too. Unfortunately, he was forced to grovel for her forgiveness.

In those three days, Naruto learned _fear._ He actually contemplated the thought that _she_ was the Kyuubi after her beautiful red locks eerily swayed in the air behind her, resembling the Nine Tails of a Kitsune.

Absolutely fucking terrifying.

But, eventually, she forgave him and they hung out and talked. Kushina was unsurprisingly smart and he, reluctantly, began to take a few lessons about the World and its History...And everything else they talked about in the academy, just more advanced.

He supposed it was _interesting_ and _useful;_ although, he certainly enjoyed the Fuinjutsu lessons a lot more. Of course, he couldn't actually make anything right now; no, he needed to learn calligraphy under her guiding hands.

Without the finest touch, Fuinjutsu would never bend to you. Unfortunately, Naruto had terrible handwriting; luckily, he had a timeless void to fix that.

Shaking his head mentally, Naruto avoided a fist; he was going off tangent. While he began to cover the academy's curriculum, fixed his handwriting, went through his memories, and worked on his Chakra Chains - which, surprisingly enough, he could work on in his strange dimension - Naruto physically trained, working on his Chakra Control and Ninjutsu, but mostly on his Chakra Control and the exercise: Tree Walking.

Naruto had to admit; the Tree Walking Exercise was _so_ cool! So much better than the leaf concentration exercise and his rock climbing one he made up; seriously, he must've looked so badass just walking up the trees.

The moment he saw Kushina in the Yin Dimension, he gave her a huge hug - something that flustered Kushina - in thanks.

It took a few days, but Naruto managed to learn the tree climbing exercise and hell did it show! Everything that he attempted to use on the first day became so much easier; his _Onmyoton_ was a thousand times easier to utilize - that isn't to say he could get it out in seconds, but he was definitely making progress - and his ability to draw out pure Yin and Yang Chakra was so much easier!

Needless to say, he couldn't be happier that he learned how to control his chakra. His Ninjutsu and Chakra progress was amazing!

Everything else? Not so much.

And you could tell by what was happening right now, but let's back up a few minutes…

 **XxMaelstromxX**

"YOSH! NARUTO-KUN!"

Naruto blinked; groaning out loud as he tilted his head to the left, taking in the time on his clock. He had to close his eyes a fair bit before he managed to contemplate the time on his clock.

 **4:30 A.M.**

Naruto muttered in exhaustion, "Probably just the wind…"

And he fell back onto his pillow, soft snores coming out of his mouth.

"NARUTO-KUN!"

It's just the wind.

"Ignite your flames of youth with us!"

Naruto brought his chest up, eyes narrowing in confusion; okay, that sounded terrifyingly familiar, but whose voice was it?

"Naruto-kun," The voice exclaimed. "Let us be the winds to each other and blow our flames of youth."

Naruto's eyebrow twitched; did he not realize how disturbing that sounded? Grabbing a kunai, Naruto confirmed himself; the freak had to die.

"I shall not leave until my youthful flames are blown!"

Naruto groaned; he was _really_ glad no one lived near him due to his status as the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki. He didn't know if he could handle the rumors that _these_ yells would fabricate. He got up and headed towards the door in a sleepy haze surrounded by annoyance.

As soon as the voice continued his youthful screams, Naruto was cursing up a storm in the kitchen after making it out of his bedroom, until he was interrupted by a sleepy female voice. " _Naruto-kun, shut up before I kill you!"  
_  
Naruto yelled back. "It's not even me! Some weirdo wants to blow my flames of youth!"

A sleepy mumble answered him, and Naruto sweatdropped. Who knew that the courtly Kushina- _sama_ \- straining the title in his thoughts - was emphatically not an early riser? Repeated tries to wake her up yielded only various versions of 'Go away' and assorted death threats; Naruto groaned, it seems he'd be facing this alone.

Naruto mumbled in annoyance, "You're the one who's going to be pissed if my flames of Youth tried to get blown…"

A cute snore was his answer. He struggled to stop his lips from turning upwards. Shaking his head, he made it to his door, a kunai swirling on his index finger. Didn't matter if he was a kid or not, he still had ninja training - as terrible as it may be - and he wasn't silly enough to open a door without a weapon.

Especially in a place where everyone hates him except for a select few.

Twirling the kunai one last time, he held it behind his back in a manner that wouldn't be considered suspicious. Finished with that, Naruto gripped the doorknob and slowly turned, facing the one chanting 'youth' moments before it opened to reveal a green monstrosity.

Naruto blinked, "...Lee?"

Then memories struck him; glancing at the calendar beside the door, he realised it was Monday. Opening his mouth slightly, he remembered his agreement with Guy-sensei; they would help him in his Taijutsu until he had a sensei assigned to him. It seems they finally got back from their mission - Naruto withheld a smile at the thought of going on adventures and saving princesses.

Rock Lee sent him a thumbs up and a stunning grin, blinding him like the sun, "Yes! It is I - Rock Lee! Fellow lover of hard work and YOUTH!"

Still, Naruto's eyes narrowed unnoticeably by the Genin before him and asked in a tone that was simply curious, friendly - easily hiding the shrewd meaning behind those words and the sharpness that laid in his eyes, "How did you know where I lived?"

Rock Lee simply smiled, "Guy-sensei told me!"

Naruto gripped the Kunai a bit harder, behind the door so Lee wouldn't notice; even his face didn't tense, Naruto appeared completely relaxed as if it was disconnected from his racing thoughts, "How did Guy-sensei know?"

Rock Lee didn't seem to have a problem answering all of his questions; in fact, it was on the other side of the spectrum, he loved the feeling of helping his junior of Hard Work, "Guy-sensei told me he found a youthful bystander and asked him moments before sending me to fetch you."

Naruto's eyes hardened, once again it was unknown to Lee as the blonde's mind raced, " _At 4:30 he asked a civilian? Who would be up at 4:30? Most shops open at around six and the owners usually get up at five to get ready and set up shop."_ This knowledge he gained through experience; no one could deny that this pranks weren't extraordinary, after all, " _No one would just be wandering around at this time…"_ Eyes glancing warily at Rock Lee who remained unaware of Naruto's racing emotions, " _...Meaning Guy-sensei was aware of where I lived before hand. The only reason he would know that is if he was told before - meaning, Guy-sensei knows I'm the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki."_ Naruto groaned mentally, " _I really wish I listened to what the Old Man said before about who knew and crap besides the civilians, but I guess it's pretty obvious that a Jonin would know who I am and where I live."_ Naruto's gaze lightened and his grip around the kunai loosened, " _Besides he still offered to help me train. He seems like a good person to me!"_

Finally, Naruto grinned back, "Anyways, you guys always get up this early for training? You must be pretty strong then!"

Lee grinned back, "Of course! Guy-sensei gets up bright and early to warm our flames of youth! Unfortunately, my teammates won't be joining us since this is considered "Personal Training" and not "Team Training" which happens to start at seven!" He sighed - something extremely strange to see from Naruto's perspective, "If only they could be a bit more youthful like you and I, Naruto-kun."

Naruto nodded understandably, all traces of tiredness disappearing, "I getcha! Just give me a few minutes to get ready and I'll be out in a flash!"

"YOSH! I shall do 500 push-ups before you come back! And if I can't do that then I wi-"

Naruto shut the door before he could hear the rest.

 **XxMaelstromxX**

"Young Naruto-kun!" A exuberant voice exclaimed as soon as Rock Lee and himself landed in their training field, "I am glad you've made it! Your youth is much brighter than I originally expected; even my youthful students have chosen to unyouthfully skip our early morning training!"

" _...Or it might have to do with the fact that you're screaming about youth right when they wake up."_ Of course, Naruto kept that to himself and asked instead, "Who are your other students?"

Instead of Guy, Lee answered him, "Hyuuga Neji, a prodigy like no other, rookie of the year, and genius of the Gentle Fist; he is my rival that I have sworn to defeat ever since I - the dead last - was in the academy!" Lee exclaimed, bouncing on the tips of his feet, "YOSH! I'm all fired up now. Let us fan our flames of YOUTH!"

Naruto grinned at Lee; what could he say, he really liked the guy - they were strangely similar. Fellow dead lasts, no natural talent, has a rival that is called a prodigy, and they were both hard workers! He definitely knew how that felt. Following in Lee's footsteps, he bounced on his toes and spoke, "Same! I'm excited to see how strong you are!"

They heard Might Guy chuckle beside them, "You two...So caught up in your youthful flames that you've forgotten about your other teammate! Tenten, female top student of the academy, and best weapon-using Genin in the village!"

Naruto eyes twinkled, "Your team sounds really strong! A Hyuuga Prodigy, top female student in the academy, and…" Naruto's eyes turned to Lee with a grin, "And you...You must be pretty powerful as well!"

Lee smiled bashfully, "Indeed I am! But I am not strong enough to even come near Neji! I must work harder!"

Before Naruto could respond, Guy spoke in Naruto's direction, "How about you find out for yourself?"

Titling his head sideways, Naruto questioned, "What do you mean?"

Guy grinned, "You and Lee will have a most youthful spar! I need to see your Taijutsu with my own eyes to see what I can do for you!"

Naruto nodded in understanding, a ferocious grin on his face as he turned to Lee, "I'm excited!" Blood rushed through his body as he thought about the fight; it was an intoxicating feeling - the set up before a fight. Now knowing how strong or powerful or fast a person is, but getting ready to fight nonetheless. It's exactly how a real fight would feel; minus the blood lust and killing intent, of course.

And Naruto loved every second of it; what could he say? He loved to fight. And it seems he wasn't the only one.

He grinned as Rock Lee sent him a matching grin, "Yosh! Naruto-kun, I will show you what my hard work has transformed me into!"

Placing a hand in front of him as if he was trying to tell him to 'bring it' and a hand behind his back, he got into his fighting stance.

Naruto grinned and went his own stance - fists held up at the sides of his face and guarding his sides - before speaking, "Looking forward to it, Lee!"

Guy watched Naruto closely from the sidelines, his eyes narrowed as he took in every single part of his form, " _It seems what I've heard before is true: the academy refused to teach Naruto Taijutsu. His stance is that of a brawler; there's so many openings in there that it's almost ridiculous...But,"_ Guy grinned at the determination in those blue eyes, " _He knows all this yet he still wants to take on a Genin known for his Taijutsu and wants to get stronger. Whoever gets this youthful child as their student will most certainly be lucky!"_

Guy stood in between them, "Ready…" He'd have to watch this match carefully; take in young Naruto's every single move, speed, and power, to point him in the right direction. Bringing his hand down, Guy exclaimed, "Begin!"

Then Naruto _blurred._

Guy blinked, Lee blinked; the moment the word left Guy's mouth, Naruto took off in a burst of speed that was comparable to Lee's own sealed state. Suddenly Naruto covered the distance that were between the two, his arm brought up and swinging for a punch. Immediately, Lee put up a guard, awaiting the impact...That didn't come.

Instead, Naruto blurred behind Lee and swung his leg at his form in a roundhouse kick. Rock Lee's eyes didn't even blink at the sudden increase in speed; rather, a grin formed on his face at facing an opponent of a similar speed. In a flash, Lee's arm was raised by the side of his face and guarded against the blow that would've sent him flying.

Guy's eyes narrowed, " _It's not just speed…"_

Lee's eyes widened at the strength that was placed in the kick and gritted his teeth as he was sent a few meters backwards.

Rock Lee glanced at Naruto who was bouncing on his toes after smashing his roundhouse into his guard, " _He's also very strong as well…"_

Rock Lee grinned, "Very impressive, Naruto-kun! I haven't met a Genin who was capable of moving at my speed!" Moving into an offensive stance, Lee glanced at Naruto seriously, "YOSH! I'm all fired up now!"

And the battle ensued with a frenzy.

Lee blurred towards him at a speed that resembled his own, but Naruto didn't worry; rather, he met his charge with his own. Making the first move, Naruto threw his fist forward in a stereotypical punch that Lee easily bobbed around and entered the blonde's admittedly pathetic guard.

Before Naruto could even blink, a foot shot out towards his neck at a speed that would be seen as a blur to any normal opponent; unfortunately for Lee, Naruto wasn't _just_ anyone. Catching sight of the foot heading towards his neck, Naruto dipped his back backwards - almost appearing as if he didn't have a spine when he bent until he was in a 90 degree angle.

Then Naruto showed Lee the difference between a Taijutsu user and a brawler. Instead of moving away to gain some space and avoid a follow up attack, Naruto moved to attack once again. Bringing his head back up like a slingshot, his head sped towards Lee's own, not expecting the axe kick that slammed the blonde's face into the ground with a sickening thud.

Lee winced; he didn't expect Naruto to come forward, but, then again, he never fought a Ninja with no Taijutsu style before. The green wearing beast, thinking it was over, bent to check up on Naruto - apparently thinking he was unconscious.

Unfortunately for Lee, he didn't know how much resilience Naruto actually had. This was shown by the surprise on his face when Naruto lifted himself up with his hands and spun, sweeping Lee's feet from the ground. A foxy grin on Naruto's face, he stopped spinning and, using the same foot he used to sweep Lee's face, lifted himself from the ground and sent his heel flying towards Lee's exposed chest.

The second thing that Lee noted was different between Taijutsu users and brawlers were the sheer predictability of all of their moves. Easily reading what Naruto was about to do, he placed his foot upon the attacking leg, and raised his other leg upwards in yet another crescent kick ( **A.N. A kick that is sent flying high for anyone who doesn't know)** that smashed into Naruto's chin on the way up - sending him flying into the air and onto the ground.

Of course, Naruto didn't stay down for a split second before he was blurring back at Lee again. Letting out a ferocious round of kicks and punches, appearing almost like a wild beast, Naruto tried his hardest to land a blow on Lee...But he didn't.

No, Lee dodged every single blow, swaying in and out of his attacks like he was seeing the future.

Naruto gritted his teeth, "Stop!"

A snap kick towards Lee's lower knee. Avoided.

"Fucking!"

A barrage of punches followed. Parried.

"JIGGLING!"

An axe kicked sliced through the air and towards Lee head; it seems even Lee didn't want to test the amount of power in his legs by blocking it and avoided it instead. A wise choice seeing how when Naruto's heel met the ground, it cracked before caving in and forming a small crater.

Lee blinked, "I do not believe I am jiggling, Naruto-kun."

Naruto simply glared daggers at him. The blonde haired Jinchuuriki wasn't wrong though, Lee was so fluid with his clean dodges that it appeared like he was made out of liquid.

It also helped that all of Naruto's moves were so predictable.

Naruto gritted his teeth, " _He's just like Sasuke and Hanabi...Just a thousand times worse. I've known this before, but I always seem to see it everywhere; this is the difference between a brawler and a Taijutsu user."_

Naruto growled before engaging Lee once more in a ferocious dance of violence.

It was only a few minutes into the battle, but it was clear to tell it was _very_ one sided. Naruto gritted his teeth in annoyance as he blocked yet another kick at his face. Knocking it away, Naruto sent a snap kick towards Lee's midsection only to find him standing upon that very leg.

Naruto twitched; the bastard thinks he's _so_ fucking cool.

The blonde kicked off his remaining foot and smashed it towards Lee's chest who - judging by his surprised face - didn't expect it; of course, that didn't mean Naruto hit him.

Nope. He hit a guard. _Again._

At least he felt the satisfaction of seeing Lee blown away by the power of his kick. Spinning with his previous attack, Naruto landed back onto the ground before blurring towards Lee again.

" _At least I can match Lee with my speed - which is surprising since no one in the academy could match my speed. That's insane. He also seems to be weary of the power in my attacks seeing how he dodges more of my risqué moves rather than taking the chance of countering me. Besides that, his Taijutsu is awesome. I can't see any weaknesses at all; the only time I can actually see an opening is when...He...Hits me."_

Grinning, Naruto had an idea.

Rock Lee was impressed; Naruto's physical abilities were insane. For a mere academy graduate to be able to match his speed - even if is his sealed state - was beyond impressive. His physical strength was astounding as well; Rock Lee wasn't interested in seeing if his guard could hold up against his more dangerous moves - axe kicks and hammer punches - and dodged them instead. He was curious though; he couldn't help but wonder who would win in a power struggle?

He thought all of this as he casually parried and dodged all of the blonde's ferocious blows.

Of course, that's where his praise ended. The ferociousness, speed, and power in his attacks didn't meant anything if he couldn't hit him - which he _would_ be able to if his moves weren't so straightforward and predictable. Naruto's speed was certainly great enough to hit him if he had an actual Taijutsu style, which, unfortunately for the blonde, he did not. All of his attacks were predictable in every sense, it made Lee frown. Even the Academy style with his speed and power would've made Lee a bit more careful than he was being right now with his careless actions, but Naruto wasn't using the academy style.

He wasn't using any style. Just instinct. Which helped a hell of a lot with his dodging skills.

Lee went to prove this as he parried a kick sent off by the blond and threw him off balance; Lee didn't stop there of course. Suddenly, his arms shot forward as green whips, intending to slam into his body, but beyond all belief - Naruto dodged them all.

With only one leg on the ground, he used an impressive amount of strength to drop and raise himself like he was dancing before hopping back onto both legs. Still, Lee didn't stop there.

He went on an onslaught that Naruto could barely see.

However, his instinct did.

Swaying in and out of Lee's blows, Naruto stepped in closer and closer as he _danced_ through them. It was in times like these that Lee saw a style in the blonde; his moves so graceful, so perfect without any wasted moment, he dodged every single blow.

And then ruined it by throwing an obvious punch.

Lee had to resist the urge to growl; if he followed that move with a snap kick then Lee would've been hit.

But he didn't. Lee easily parried his punch with his own, his fist following the path to his opponent's chin while his arm knocked the blonde's arm off course.

Lee heard the sound of a gunshot as his attack made contact. Once again, Lee thought it was over; unfortunately for him, he was proved wrong once again when Naruto - instead of being sent flying - flowed with the force sent into him and pivoted with his feet, sending his fist that tried to attack Lee moments ago into a circular arc. Spinning in a circle, the punch flowed around and was sent flying at Lee on the other side of his face.

Lee couldn't guard against this attack as the punch was sent towards him in double the speed _and_ strength that it gained from Lee's own attack. His eyes widened as it smashed into his cheek and, with the sound of gunshot, Lee was sent flying across the field and smashed through the tree that stopped his flight.

Naruto grinned, "It worked, dattebayo! First hit against you today!" His blues eyes suddenly gained a worried tint and he swore, "Oh shit! Lee are you alright?"

He was about to race over to help him when Lee threw the tree off his body with surprising strength and grinned, "Yosh! Naruto-kun, that was a most impressive move! I will reward you with moving even _faster."_

Naruto gulped; faster? There was a speed faster than he was already moving?

Lee's hands moved towards his orange leg warmers, fingers hooking around the loop, but, before he could start taking it off, Guy spoke, "That is quite alright, Lee! The spar is over! I have seen more than enough to talk to Naruto-kun in the youthful activity of training!"

Lee looked a bit disappointed before grinning, "That is quite alright, Guy-sensei! Was our spar as youthful as I thought it was?"

Naruto simply watched them laugh and talk before moving forward. Lee was no fucking joke. He was insanely strong and he wasn't even going all out! Naruto bit his lip; where exactly did it leave him? But, even with those thoughts, Naruto couldn't stop himself from grinning, " _All these strong people...Ill surpass them all!"_

Naruto jogged over to the green duo and was immediately addressed by Guy who grinned at him, "Naruto-kun! That was an excellent performance! I never imagined that you were so youthfully fast and powerful - and you're only an academy graduate! Truly youthful!"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly; he wasn't really used to being praised for anything, "Thanks, Guy-sensei!"

"That last move was also very interesting; risqué, but seemingly worth it since you managed to strike Lee." Guy continued, "How did you think of that?"

"I couldn't find any openings against Lee - probably because I was never taught a Taijutsu style - but whenever I was actually hit, I always saw a tiny opening. I just took my chances on that." Naruto responded simply, smiling at Lee who was grinning from a, as he said, 'Youthful Bout.'

"I see!" Suddenly, Might Guy lost the joyful look in his eyes and became more serious, "I'm sure you already know this, but your Taijutsu is nonexistent."

Naruto sighed; he already knew this, but it _still_ hurt whenever someone said it, "Yeah, I guess I was never…" Blue eyes glanced at Lee and he corrected himself, "I guess I just _never_ got what my _teachers_ were trying to _teach me!"_

Naruto stressed certain words for Lee, unwilling to let him know what he was containing. Fortunately, Guy-sensei got it and, apparently, didn't like it by the dark flash that went by his eyes and his mutter, "Such _unyouthful_ teachers."

"Yup."

"Anyways! While your physical abilities are outstanding, your Taijutsu is nonexistent which makes you easy to pick apart for any Taijutsu user with a tiny bit of experience. I'm sure you've seen this in a few of your academy spars. While your speed probably overwhelmed most opponents, there were others who were capable of beating you."

Naruto simply nodded.

Guy sighed, "Unfortunately, there's nothing I can really teach you during these few weeks. I can't take the place of your sensei by teaching you my style either."

Naruto's eyes fell to the ground, despondent, " _That's that I guess…How frustrating. I know it's not because of the Kyuubi that he doesn't want to teach me, it's because he really_ _ **can't**_ _take the place of my sensei."_ Naruto groaned, " _This sucks."_

"But I _can,_ however, help you increase your physical abilities."

 _That_ had Naruto look up like an excited puppy.

Guy continued, "Even if all the speed and strength in the world won't help you against Taijutsu users, some will be overwhelmed by the speed and strength. Rookies or fellow Genin, probably. Of course, that won't work once you fight any more experienced fighter or anyone who's decently fast. Basically, experienced Genin would destroy you even with all that speed."

Naruto's excitement didn't dull one bit, if he could get faster and stronger, who the hell was he to say no? This was awesome!

Guy seemed to see this and laughed boisterously at the blonde haired boy, "Such a strong amount of youth! Whoever gets you as a student, young Naruto-kun, will certainly be lucky!"

Lee smiled at Naruto, "Guy-sensei is about to hand you some of his Youth! My flames are stoked! YOSH! I shall do 1000 single finger push ups!"

Naruto simply sweat dropped before his eyes were dragged to Guy when he went through hand seals that Naruto did his best to remember.

He thought to himself over and over again, " _Boar. Dog. Bird. Monkey. Ram."_

And watched as he slammed his hand into the ground and exclaimed, " **Kuchiyose no Jutsu!** "

Suddenly a cloud of smoke enveloped the training area causing Naruto to throw his arms in front of him to protect himself from the sudden onslaught. Opening his eyes warily when the smoke was dispersed by the wind, Naruto eyes widened and he pointed at the creature that Guy was standing next to, "A turtle!"

It indeed was a turtle. A very large turtle. His shell was red with a yellow underside and swirls on the top with markings around his eyes which were also yellow. He wore a standard Konoha forehead protector around his neck, and an orange bandage on his right front leg.

Naruto watched, mouth dropping open as the turtle opened his mouth and spoke, " **I'm a tortoise."**

Naruto simply pointed dumbly, "It...Spoke."

" **I'm not a 'it' kid. I'm a 'he'."** The turtle turned to Guy who was laughing youthfully, " **Who's the idiot?"**

Naruto's eyebrow twitched; who the hell did this bastard think he was? Naruto crossed his arms, "Yeah, Guy-sensei. Who's the turtle."

Naruto never knew turtles could growl.

"This, my youthful friend, is Naruto-kun. He's a student of hard work." Guy spoke before turning to the tortoise, "This, Naruto-kun, is one of my most valuable friends, Ningame-kun. He's my summon."

Naruto's eyes brightened, instantly losing his annoyance at the tortoise's attitude, "A summon!" Naruto exclaimed, "That's so cool! Ningame-san looks so cool!"

If Ningame wasn't red, Naruto would've seen him blush at the compliment. Unfortunately, it didn't go away as Naruto came closer and admired his shell and design, "Wow! Your shell is so cool, Ningame-san!"

Ningame brightened at the mention of his shell, " **It's every tortoise's pride!"**

"I can see why! It's so badass!"

" **Isn't it!** "

"The orange matches it well as well!"

" **I think so too. People seem to think orange is a bad color, but they're idiots!"**

"That's what I'm saying! I use-"

And they went off tangent.

Minutes later, they returned to the original topic as Guy coughed into his hand to interrupt them, "Anyways, Ningame-kun! Can I have those Gravity Seals I left with you?"

" **Ho?"** Ningame answered, " **So that's why you called me here? I'm assuming it's for the kid since Lee-kun can't use them and your other student's bodies aren't strong enough."**

Guy nodded with a grin, "Mhmm! Lee doesn't need them with the weights and his inability to use chakra, Neji-kun and Tenten-kun aren't capable of using them with their bodies, but Naruto-kun here has the perfect body for them and the chakra required to use them."

The tortoise looked over at Naruto who simply raised an eyebrow, " _Gravity Seals? The hell is that? Fuinjutsu?"_

The tortoise suddenly nodded, " **Yeah. The kid has the body for it!"** Ningame suddenly slammed his foot on the ground and two small bands came out of his shell. " **He'll make good usage of it. And he's a fan of orange. He's a good kid!"**

"You're pretty awesome yourself, Ningame!" Naruto responded with a grin that was matched with the tortoise's own.

" **Well, if that's all, I'll see you guys around. Good luck training, Naruto and Lee. Ja ne."** The tortoise suddenly vanished in a poof and Naruto immediately turned to Guy.

"Ne, ne, Guy-sensei! What's a summon?" Naruto immediately questioned, his interest piqued wondering if he, himself, could do it.

Guy laughed, "Impressed that much by the youthful, Ningame?" Seeing Naruto's enthusiastic nod, Guy continued, "Well, basically, after landing a contract with an animal, you can summon them to you for a battle like comrades. You can also train with them or simply talk with them. Anything at all."

" _Train with them?"_

Naruto's mind suddenly thought of something brilliant and made up his mind, "Say, Guy-sensei, where can I get one of these Contracts?"

Guy never understood how much he changed Naruto's _already_ messed up destiny into something that even the author doesn't completely understand.

But that's how plots are made.

Guy laughed, "Contracts are hard to come by, Naruto-kun. Unless you come from a clan - which almost always has a summoning companion - then it'll be hard for you to find one. I, myself, don't come from a clan, I was lucky to find one myself."

Seeing Naruto's eager eyes, Guy continued, "During a battle, I defeated," The green beast didn't say 'kill', he didn't want to destroy Naruto's conception of Ninja so soon, "A man who was capable of summoning turtles. The turtles decided that I was a worthy ninja and asked me to sign the contract, which I did and I've had youthful companions ever since!"

Naruto nodded, "So a summoning contract can be gained through battle?"

"Although, it's not likely. It was simply chance that the ninja I was fighting knew how to summon." Guy corrected Naruto's misconception of gaining a contract, hiding a laugh at Naruto's annoyed expression.

"Man! Clans get all the good stuff." Naruto groaned into his hands, "But life's never been fair so why start now?"

Guy nodded, impressed with the blonde's words as he easily picked himself back up. Deciding to tell him more information, he spoke, "You can also gain a contract through the summoning scrolls the village possesses." Seeing Naruto tilt his head in confusion, Guy sweat dropped. He was just a Genin; of course, he wouldn't know this, "Each village possesses a few Summoning Scrolls. Clanless ninjas can put their names down for a chance to gain a summon, but the chances are low. They only accept Ninja with a lot of potential or someone who is already great. Basically, there's an incredibly small chance of getting a Summoning Contract for a clanless Ninja."

Naruto simply sighed, but Guy wasn't finished, "Also if someone owns a scroll - if the summon gives the human their scroll to keep - then anyone the human approves of can let them sign their name down on the contract!"

Naruto grinned; at least, _that_ was a bit easier than the other ways! Who knows, maybe Jiji would let him sign his contract with the monkeys! Enma was always nice to him when he was a kid and that's not even mentioning how badass he is!

"Also, if I remember correctly, Jiraiya-sama of the Sannin managed to gain his contract by simply using the summoning technique without actually having a contract." Guy murmured to himself, Naruto's keen ears easily picking up the words.

Naruto blinked, "If you can just use the summoning Jutsu like that why do you need a contract?"

Guy simply shook his head, "Many youthful people have tried before, but Jiraiya-sama was the only one to succeed. It's assumed that you need to have a personality, traits, or dreams that matches the summon to actually do it though…"

Naruto smiled; he was _definitely_ trying that after this. If some old man could do it then he'd be able to do it no doubt!

Guy shook his head and grinned, "Anyways, we're going off track right now! These," Guy showed him the small dark blue wrist bands with Fuinjutsu written over it in a small, condensed circle, "Are known as Gravity Seals! Like they imply - through the youthful art of Fuinjutsu - they increase the level of gravity on the user and _only_ the user! It doesn't affect anything else, you could stomp on the ground with the gravity seals at maximum and it would only be at your normal strength, not normal strength + weight of increased gravity."

Naruto eyes widened as a wind burst through the clearing and made his bangs flow from side to side in a mystical fashion, but his eyes were completely focused on those seals.

"They have 50 levels - each level increasing the level of gravity by double of the last amount and always making it twice as hard as the last level. Of course, it won't allow you to change the level without your body matching the requirements. You'll have to try it twice to make it change and, in that case, you'll die, crushed by the overwhelming force of gravity. Fortunately, it tells you when your body is able of not being crushed into paste...Although, smashing into the ground and not being able to move wasn't very pleasant either."

"Isn't 50 levels...A bit much? I doubt anyone can do all 50 levels if they double with every increase. I weigh 115 lbs right now. So I'd be sitting at 230 with one increase - which isn't very hard since I do that every morning - but with a third increase it'd be 460…" Naruto shuddered, "That'd be hellish."

Guy simply laughed, "It definitely is strange, almost like it wasn't made for normal bodies! That's why you never increase the weight until the seals tell you to!"

"And how do they do that?"

Guy simply shook his head with a mystified expression playing on his face, "I'll never understand _Fuinjutsu_ , how it understands the body like it has an actual brain is insane. I'll show you soon. It won't go on any one who doesn't have the right body. It's strangely picky."

Guy placed the wristbands in his hands and Naruto stared at the seals. He could make out a few of the scribbles thanks to Kushina's lessons - vitality, body, gravity - but couldn't make out much more. Cerulean blue eyes turned to Guy as he continued to speak, "It turns on and off by saying a code that I'll tell you once you turn it on."

Naruto eagerly placed the dark colored wrist bands onto his wrists and grinned up at Guy who told him the phrases that would activate, deactivate, and level up the gravity seals.

Placing his hands in the Ram Seal, Naruto exclaimed, " **Fuin: Activate!** "

The blonde haired boy watched as his chakra was consumed by the seals on his wrists and waited in anticipation; suddenly, the black seals turned into a blood red before the gravity around Naruto suddenly increased.

Grunting as he was forced to bend his back, he slowly lifted his head back up. Eventually, he raised himself to his proper position and grinned, "That wasn't so bad! It's only double my weight right now! I squat with boulders heavier than my own weight all the time! I guess this won't be awful after all! If they just wait until I feel like I'm in my normal gravity then this will be a piece of cake...Although, it's definitely going to be a bitch getting used to it when it goes heavier."

Suddenly the red glow of the seals turned green. Blinking, Naruto turned to Guy who had a Cheshire Cat grin on his face, " _That_ is the leveling color! It's telling you to double your weight again."

Naruto simply shrugged, how bad could it be? Terrible last words, Naruto.

" **Fuin: Level!** "

Then the seal turned red.

And _then_ he smashed into the ground.

Naruto groaned, "Okay...That fucking hurt."

Guy simply laughed boisterously as Naruto tried to push himself up, only to fail again and again, " _I wonder how Naruto-kun will feel if he knows Lee's weights are so much heavier than what he's feeling right now...But surprises are good."_

Guy questioned, "You alright, young Naruto-kun?"

"Just _peachy._ "

It took a few minutes, but Naruto managed to get into a sitting position; sitting breathless against a tree, he grinned at Guy who had a wistful smile on his face, "I received this seal from a beautiful young woman. You probably don't know this, but those seals are extremely hard to come by - they can only be made by _Fuinjutsu_ Masters!"

Naruto looked up from where he was sitting - straining his body all the while, "Really? Then that means…"

Guy nodded with a melancholic look in his eyes, "When I was a Genin a woman I looked up to created _and_ gave these wristbands to me; telling me that'd I'd be able to make good usage of them…"

The blonde haired Jinchuuriki looked at the seals hesitatingly, "Are you sure...You want to give this to me?"

Guy laughed and dropped a hand on the blonde's head before ruffling his hair, "Of course. I think I know how she felt back then...I see the potential in you like she saw the potential in me. I'm sure she'd want you to have it anyways…"

" _She was your mother after all."_ Guy added mentally, keeping it to himself; Hiruzen had forbid him and anyone who knew of Kushina's son from telling him about his parents.

But that didn't stop him from grinning fondly at the boy before him.

 **XxMaelstromxX**

 **Well that's the end of that chapter!**

 **Honestly, I had this done for months. I'm not exactly sure why I didn't post it. I didn't really review it for grammar mistakes so forgive the hundreds that are probably within. Speaking of which, if anyone would like to beta this story, I'd be incredibly grateful. Leave me a PM!**

 **Not much to say here. Still don't know the pairing so don't freak out about the slight fluff in this chapter - it was mostly for the information Naruto gained.**

 **I think the next chapter will contain a time-skip; although, I don't know when that will be out. More reviews will end up with a faster update.**

 **See you all next time.**


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